U.S. Chain-Store Sales +2%

U.S. chain-store sales rose 1.7 percent year on year for the week that ended on July 13, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs. However, weekly comparable-store sales fell 1.1 percent.
"After surging during the long Fourth of July holiday weekend, weekly retail sales flip-flopped and declined sharply this past week,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC's vice president of research and chief economist. “Weather may have accentuated this swing in sales as it is traditionally a relatively light selling period and is dominated by summer clearance sales.”
ICSC Research anticipates comparable-store sales will  increase by between 3 percent and 3.5 percent for the month of July. 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.