New York, NY, March 29--Chain store retail sales fell 1.0 percent in the week ended March 26, compared with a 0.2 percent increase the previous week, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Joint report.
The drop was attributed to below normal temperatures, which hurt demand for spring apparel.
Compared with the same week a year ago, sales increased to a 4.5 percent after a 3.4 percent rise the preceding week. The higher year-on-year comparison resulted from extra sales over the Easter holiday, which fell much earlier in 2005 than in 2004.
"This past week, the overall pace of sales was inflated by holiday shopping for Easter food, candy and seasonal apparel," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research.
"Weather, however, continues to cause some softness in spring apparel demand and helped contribute to the week-over-week sales decline. Despite this week's sales decline, we expect that March sales will increase by 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent," 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.
