WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is are excerpts from the
commentary from the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot
released Tuesday:
Retailers are continuing to face mixed results during June as
weekly sales flattened out this week but improved on a year-over-year
basis. As a result, for the week ending June 16, weekly retail sales
were flat (0.0%), according to the International Council of Shopping
Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. On a
year-over-year basis, however, retail sales continued to gain some
momentum and increased sharply to 3.6% over last year.
“With a fair amount of economic uncertainty in the U.S. and
globally, consumer sales have been more restrained,” said Michael
Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist. “The good
news, however, is that gasoline prices at the pump have receded
significantly in the last 11 weeks, which should help to replenish some
discretionary purchasing power in the coming weeks,” Niemira added.
Looking ahead to June, ICSC Research forecasts a gain in industry
comparable-store sales, excluding drug stores, of about 3.5% to 4.0%
following the May rise of 4.0%. Including drug store sales, the
industry tally is likely to be about two percentage points weaker.
** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
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