Chain Store Sales Higher Than Last Year

New York, NY, Oct. 20, 2010--Chain-store sales last week rose 1.7% from year ago, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs.

However, retail sales slipped 0.7% from the previous week.

Michael Niemira, ICSC director of research and chief economist, said that on average, unusually warm temperatures across the U.S. held consumer spending down for seasonal goods this past week. 

ICSC is predicting that for the fiscal month of October, year-over-year comparable-store sales growth would increase about 2.5%.