Chain Store Sales Up Fifth Consecutive Week

New York, NY, Oct. 14, 2009--U.S. chain store sales rose for the fifth consecutive week during the seven days that ended Oct. 10, rising 1 percent from a year earlier, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs reported.

On a week-to-week basis, sales increased by 0.6 percent.

“Slowly but surely, the underlying sales performance is inching higher,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist.

“This trend improvement is providing evidence that the retail sector recovery is starting to unfold.”

Niemira added that the ICSC expects retail comparable store sales to be flat in October, “with a bias toward a somewhat higher outcome.”