New York, NY, February 1, 2006--Chain store sales fell last week, posting their second pronounced weekly decline in a month, according to a report on Tuesday.
Sales retreated 1.1 percent in the week ended January 28 following a 0.3 percent uptick in the prior week, the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities said.
The ICSC also said sales were up 4.1 percent last week compared with the same week one year earlier, after posting a 3.3 percent gain the week before.
Consumer spending accounts for around two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, so analysts tend to track sales figures as one barometer of the economy‘s health.
