New York, NY, November 16--U.S. chain store retail sales slipped last week, as consumers paused before the start of the holiday season, a report said on Tuesday.
Sales fell 0.4 percent in the week ended November 13, compared with a 1.3 percent rise 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 gained strength at 3.4 percent after a 3.0 percent rise the preceding week.
"Though sales decreased slightly this past week, the good news is that the overall sales pace gained momentum and increased on a year-over-year basis," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research.
"As we move closer to the beginning of the traditional start of the holiday season - Black Friday - we should start to see retail sales rebound as consumers begin their holiday shopping. Thus far, only 3 percent of households have reported that they have completed their holiday shopping so far. For November, ICSC expects retail chain store sales to increase to about 3.0 percent to 4.0 percent, on a year-over-year basis," Niemira added.
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.
