Chain Store Sales Higher Than Last Year

New York, NY, Nov. 24, 2009--Chain-store sales for the week ended Nov. 21 rose 3.3% from the year-earlier period, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs.

On a week-over-week basis, sales were unchanged.

"So much of the monthly performance rides on bargain Friday shopping--the day after Thanksgiving," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist, adding he expects sales to be strong on both Friday and Saturday.

He expects November sales to rise 4% to 6% as easy year-over-year comparisons will dominate the results. That was lower than his previous forecast of sales increasing in the range of 5% to 8%.