Chain Store Sales Higher Than Last Year

New York, NY, Aug. 18, 2010--U.S. chain-store sales rose 3.3% this past week over last year, according to weekly tracking data collected by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs.

Although consumer traffic at the chains has remained steady, on a week-to-week basis, sales reflected a 1.3% decline.

Michael Niemira, ICSC's director of research and chief economist, explained that the pricing environment has weakened and thus constricted reported sales gains. ICSC is expecting August comparable store sales to increase by 3% at U.S. chains.