Chain store sales rise in latest week: ICSC

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Weekly U.S. chain store sales rose for
the first time in a month as warmer weather across much of the
country drew shoppers back into stores, a report said on
Tuesday.

Sales rose 1.8 percent in the week ended April 8 after an
unchanged reading the week before, the International Council of
Shopping Centers and UBS said in a joint report.

“As Mother Nature turned kinder this past week, demand for
Easter merchandise and Spring-related items finally drove
sales,” said Michael Niemira, chief economist at ICSC. “For
April, ICSC expects monthly chain store sales to rise by 5.0
percent to 5.5 percent on a year-over-year basis.”

Compared with the same week a year ago, sales rose 3.9
percent, well above the prior week’s 2.4 percent increase.

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.