Chain Store Sales Grew Slightly in December

New York, NY, January 10, 2008--U.S. chain store sales for December grew 0.9 percent year on year, according to International Council of Shopping Centers index. This was in line with ICSC's expectation of 1 percent growth for the month.

Sales were adversely affected by a calendar quirk this year that pushed the post-Thanksgiving shopping week into November rather than December. The combined November-December period gained 2.2 percent over last year's comparable period. Retailers say high energy prices and warm weather hurt consumer spending.

"Overall, the consumer was conservative in their spending for the 2007 holiday season … its weakest showing since 2002," said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research. Wal-Mart was strong compared to many retailers, achieving a 2.4 percent same-store sales increase year on year for December. Costco also did extremely well, with same-store sales rising 7 percent.

ICSC predicts that 2008 will start off fairly slowly, with sales showing a slight gain. "Looking forward to January, we expect a gain of 1.5 to 2 percent,” said Niemira, “as the tough economic environment lingers."