New York, NY, January 10, 2005--January seems to be off to a positive start for U.S. retailers as consumers continue to redeem holiday gift cards.
Weekly U.S. chain store sales increased by 0.7 percent for the week ended January 6, according to ICSC's index.
Year on year, sales rose 3.4 percent, their strongest showing since October 14, when they climbed 3.9 percent.
Consumers taking advantage of post-holiday sales are behind the surprisingly good beginning of the year, says Michael P. Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research. Niemira says he expects that colder weather ahead will bring upbeat results for the month. “For January,” he said, “we expect comp-store sales to increase by 2.5 to 3 percent.”
