New York, NY, September 6, 2006--Chain store sales rose 3.9% for the week ended Sept. 2, according to a survey released Wednesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities.
This was the strongest gain nationwide since the beginning of summer, the survey said. On a week-over-week basis, sales rose 0.3%.
"It appears that the Labor Day weekend storm in the Northeast, in particular, helped to drive consumers indoors to shop and spend, especially for back-to-school items," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist. For the fiscal month of September, ICSC expects retail chain store sales to rise by about 3.5%.
