Sales at chain stores last week were virtually unchanged from the corresponding week a year ago, rising a minuscule 0.4%, reports the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs weekly sales index. By contrast, online sales Monday through Friday of last week were up 9% over the same week a year earlier, comScore Inc. reported Monday.
For the week that included the Friday after Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, sales were up 1.3% over the year-earlier week. Sales fell 0.8% from Thanksgiving week to the following week, according to the Shopping Center Council/Goldman Sachs index.
“The tough economic and retail environment, which continued into early December, is likely to dominate the full month's sales performance as well,” says Michael P. Niemira, the shopping center council’s chief economist. “Given this, ICSC Research expects monthly comparable-store sales will be flat to up 1% for December with late holiday shopping driving the month's overall performance.”
The index represents comparable store sales.
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