WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is the commentary from the
ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot released Tuesday:
As like in years past the traditional post-Thanksgiving shopping
lull kicked in this past week as consumers took a break from holiday
shopping. As a result, weekly retail sales declined sharply (-3.1%) for
the week ending December 1, 2012, according to the International Council
of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales
Index. However, on a year-over-year basis, the pace of retail sales
remained healthy at 3.2%.
“Sales typically enter a lull period after Thanksgiving and this
year appears to be no different,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice
president of research and chief economist. “The good news is that on a
two-week basis, the year-over-year pace is ahead of the November pace
and December sales are likely to rebound from the sluggish November pace
as the number of holiday shopping days will begin to wind down over the
course of the next few weeks,” Niemira added.
As a result of a shift in sales in December, ICSC Research
anticipates that retail sales for the fiscal month of December will
accelerate to 4.0% to 4.5%, keeping ICSC’s holiday (November-December
combined) forecast of 3.0% on-track.
** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDT$,MAUDS$,M$U$$$]