August chain-store sales increase 4.6%

U.S. chain-store sales rose by 4.6% on a year-over-year basis according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), which matched July's performance. Hurricane Irene's impact was mixed, as some retailers got a lift from consumers stocking up before the storm, while others were negatively impacted after it hit. Overall, the sales pace was likely slowed by 0.5 to 1.0 percentage points from Irene. "Despite the negative impacts from Hurricane Irene, the August U.S. chain store sales performance remained healthy," said Michael Niemira, vice president of research and chief economists for ICSC. "Back-to-school spending appeared healthy as well, but some retailers noted that the season had started a bit later this year, which will continue to drive sales during the first half of September," Niemira said. Looking ahead, ICSC Research anticipates September chain-store sales will increase between 4% and 5%—a continuation of the last two-month trend. ICSC Chain Store Sales Trends is a monthly report on the U.S. retail industry's sales performance based on an ICSC preliminary compilation of publicly-available sales for 26 chain stores during the month of August. Industry sales aggregates are compiled for "comparable-store" or "same-store" sales and for total store sales. Those data are presented as an index. Comparable-store sales are also compiled for specialized-industry groupings, which include aggregates for apparel chain stores, department stores, discount stores, drug stores, footwear stores and wholesale clubs. For the complete report, please use the following member id number (1177584), password (press2002pass) and link http://www.icsc.org/cgi/rsrchshow?section=cs. Founded in 1957, ICSC is the premier global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its more than 55,000 members in over 90 countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, retailers and brokers, as well as academics and public officials. As the global industry trade association, ICSC links with more than 25 national and regional shopping center councils throughout the world.