WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is the commentary from the
ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot released Tuesday:
After four solid weeks of shopping consumers finally took a break
and left retailers with a post-holiday sales slump. As a result,
week-over-week retail sales declined by a sharp 3.2 percent, according
to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. However, on a
year-over-year basis, the pace of retail sales remained relatively
steady with the prior week at 3.5 percent.
“Although sales fell sharply during this past week, the
week-over-week decline probably was exaggerated by the seasonal
adjustment given a low volume week,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice
president of research and chief economist. “More importantly for
January, retailers should see some improvements over the next few weeks
as consumers redeem their gift cards throughout the month,” Niemira
added.
For January, ICSC Research expects retail sales will be somewhat
subdued relative to recent months with overall chain store sales
increasing by around 2.5 percent, as there is expected to be less gift
card redemption this year compared with January 2010 — as suggested by
ICSC-Goldman Sachs consumer spending surveys.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
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