Chain Store Sales Off Slightly Week of Aug. 22

New York, NY, Aug. 25, 2009--Chain store retail sales for the week that ended Aug. 22 fell 0.2 percent, according to the weekly sales snapshot produced by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs.

ICSC expects August sales to decline by low single digits overall.

“Sales continued to bounce around on a weekly basis with this period's performance showing an improvement over the latest week, which offset some of the prior week's dip,” said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC chief economist.

“Overall sales for August continue to face headwinds and with that ICSC Research continues to expect the month’s performance will be down between 3.5 to 4 percent,” Niemira added.