Retail Sales Up Fourth Consecutive Week

New York, NY, Feb. 24, 2009--The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index increased 0.6% in the week ended Feb. 21 from its level a week before, on a seasonally-adjusted, comparable store basis.

On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales decline by 0.8% in the latest week.

"Sales improved again this past week and extended its non-negative trend to four weeks - a welcome sign for retailers," said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC chief economist. "Although retail-sector conditions continue to be weak, the message appears to be that consumer spending is just not as weak as in recent months."

The weekly result Tuesday followed 0.9% increase in the prior week and an unchanged reading in the week before that.