New York, NY, June 21--Chain store retail sales rose 0.1 percent in the week ended June 18, compared with a 0.6 percent rise 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 remained steady at a 3.7 percent increase after a 3.7 percent rise the preceding week.
"With the hot weather driving demand for seasonal goods, we have seen sales increase for the third consecutive week," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research.
"Given this, ICSC expects the monthly comp-store sales performance to top the previous June expectation of 3.5 - 4.0 percent on a year-over-year basis. For the month, ICSC expects chain store sales to increase by about 4.5 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.
