New York, November 2--Chain store sales fell for a third week in a row last week, dragging down the annual rate of growth to below 3.0 percent, a report said on Tuesday.
Sales fell 0.3 percent in the week ended October 30, compared with a 0.6 percent fall in the previous week, the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS said in a joint report. Compared with the same week a year ago, sales grew at only a 2.9 percent pace after a 3.7 percent rise the preceding week.
"Although Halloween sales drove traffic and sales for some retailers (mostly discounters) selling candy, decorations and costumes, softness prevailed as customer traffic and sales slowed," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research.
"Given the recent slowdown over the last three weeks, we have lowered our monthly expectation to 3.0 percent on a year-over-year basis for October," Niemira added. They had been looking for a 3.0 percent to 4.0 percent gain.
The ICSC-UBS Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot is compiled from a group of major discount, department and chain stores across the country that report their weekly results.
