U.S. Chain-Store Sales +4%

U.S. chain store sales this past week rose 4.2 percent compared with one year ago, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs. ICSC determined that results reflected easy year over year comparisons and hot weather that drove consumers into the air conditioned malls and shopping centers.

Weekly chain store sales increased by 1.4 percent compared with the previous week. "Retailers experienced a decent spurt in sales this past week following last week's decline," said Michael Niemira, ICSC director of research and chief economist. "However, over the last two weeks, the seasonally-adjusted sales performance was relatively flat."

For the month of July, ICSC maintains that chain store sales will increase between 3 percent to 4 percent on a comparable store basis, whereas sales dropped 5 percent one year ago.