New York, NY, September 13, 2005--Chain store retail sales fell in the latest week, as higher energy prices forced consumers to cut back on non-essential purchases, a retail report said on Tuesday.
Sales fell 0.2 percent in the week ending September 10, compared with a flat reading 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 softened to a 3.5 percent increase after rising 3.8 percent the preceding week.
"Despite the needs of the displaced residents that lived in the path of Hurricane Katrina, which helped to lift sales for basic foods and other supplies in Texas and across the South, higher energy prices are seemingly weighing on demand for nonessential goods by middle and lower income households," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research.
"For September, ICSC expects that overall chain store sales are likely to increase by approximately 3.0 to 3.5 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.
