Rapaport News

RAPAPORT... U.S. chain-store sales rose 2.5 percent year on year for the week that ended on August 3, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs. Weekly comparable-store sales edged slightly higher at 0.3 percent as 12 states launched their annual sales tax holiday.
 
"Although the ICSC‐Goldman Sachs channel‐checking survey found a very mixed pattern by retailer type, the survey found healthy business compared with the same week of the prior year for department stores,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC's vice president of research and chief economist. “The largest number of state tax holidays to promote back‐to‐school shopping kicked in late in the week and helped to lift weekly sales. In addition, gasoline prices moderated in the past week, helping to provide a little lift for the consumer’s discretionary purchasing power.”

ICSC Research anticipates that comparable-store sales will reflect an increase of between 5 percent and 6 percent for the month of July, a dramatic surge in revenue compared with the group's earlier growth prediction of only 3 percent. The weekly chain-store sales snapshot is produced by ICSC and Goldman Sachs to measure U.S. nominal same-store, or comparable-store, sales while excluding restaurant and vehicle demand. The weekly sales index is presented on an adjusted basis to account for normal seasonal and other data anomalies.