WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is the commentary from the
ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot released Tuesday:
With seasonal temperatures decisively turning warmer and Easter
shopping at hand, consumers were in the mood to shop and spend over the
last week as retailers saw a strong 4.7 percent increase year-over-year
and the hefty 2.1 percent week-over-week increase according to the
ICSC-Goldman Sachs weekly sales index for the period ending April 3.
“The calendar shift due to the earlier Easter this year versus last
year (April 4, 2010 vs. April 12, 2009) caused sales to surge on an
unadjusted basis, but even on a seasonally-adjusted basis, sales were
quite strong as well,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC director of research
and chief economist. “As a result ICSC Research has revised its monthly
expectation to be more in line with the 1994 seasonal pattern for chain
store sales growth when there was a substantial calendar lift from the
earlier Easter. ICSC Research now expects March sales will increase by
8.0 to 10.0 percent with about six percentage points of year-over-year
growth attributed to the calendar shift,” Niemira added.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDT$,MAUDS$,M$U$$]