New York, NY, May 31, 2006-- The International Council of Shopping Centers Retail Chain Store Sales Index declined by 1.0% in the week ended May 27 from the week before on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis, according to data reported Wednesday.
This result followed a 0.8% decline in sales in the prior week.
"Once again sales were held back by slow customer traffic which in of itself was due to a lack of any immediate spending catalysts," said Mike Niemira, chief economist at ICSC who compiles the index. "For the month, we expect monthly chain store sales will increase by approximately 3.0% on a year-over-year basis."
The index increased at a 3.6% rate on-year in the week ended May 27 compared with a 3.5% increase the prior week.
