New York, NY, June 29--U.S. chain store sales weakened in the latest week, due to unseasonably cool weather throughout the country, which lowered purchases of air conditioners, fans and other summer items, a report said on Tuesday.
Sales fell 1.2 percent in the week ended June 26, down from the 0.1 percent increase 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 increased 4.2 percent, slightly down from the 4.9 percent growth pace of the preceding week.
"Abnormally cooler temperatures and wetter conditions experienced throughout the country this past week caused retailers to experience a seasonal goods contraction," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research, in a statement.
Given last week's sales decline was the second largest since late January, the group cut for the second time in two weeks its July sales estimate for chain stores opened for at least one year. ICSC now expects July sales growth in a range of 3.0 percent to 3.5 percent on a year-over-year basis, down from the previous 4.5 percent to 5.0 percent.
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.
