WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is the commentary from the
ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot released
Tuesday:
After last weeks slow start for the fiscal month, weekly retail
sales gained some momentum and rose as discounters drove sales for the
week. Overall weekly retail sales rose by 0.1 percent for the week
ending October 15, according to International Council of Shopping
Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. On a
year-over-year basis, retail sales also showed improvement and rose by
3.6 percent.
“Sales picked up over the past week as discounter business
accelerated helping to drive sales overall,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC
vice president of research and chief economist. “Though the
week-over-week pace was just a slight improvement, the good news is that
the year-over-year sales pace showed a strong improvement and continues
to remain positive as we head towards the middle of the fiscal month,”
added Niemira.
For October, ICSC Research anticipates that the industry
comparable-store sales pace will continue as it has over the last few
months and post an increase of about 5.0 percent overall as the industry
faces an “easy comparison” with October 2010.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDT$,MAUDS$,M$U$$$]