New York, NY, November 1, 2005--Chain store retail sales rose in the latest week as stronger sales of seasonal goods gave retailers a boost, a retail report said on Tuesday.
Sales rose 0.4 percent in the week ended Oct. 29, compared with a 0.2 percent decline 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 accelerated by 4.4 percent, its best showing in 11 weeks, after a 3.6 percent rise the preceding week.
"A blast of cold weather and last minute Halloween demand helped to lift retailers' spirits this past week," said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research.
"Given the improvement in overall demand for seasonal goods and other related items in recent weeks, we now expect comp-store sales for October to increase by about 4.0 percent - higher then the earlier expectation of 3.0 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.
