Chain store sales fall in the latest week Wednesday, June 1, 2005; 7:52 AM
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. chain store retail sales fell in the latest week, taking the index to its lowest reading in nine weeks as cooler weather curbed consumers purchases of seasonal goods, retail report said on Wednesday.
Sales fell 1.0 percent in the week ended May 28, compared with a 0.2 percent decrease the previous week, the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS said in a joint report.
Compared with the same week a year ago, sales momentum also slowed to a 3.1 percent increase after a 3.7 percent rise the preceding week.
"Although there was a warm blast of weather for Memorial Day, the month as a whole was cooler than normal and the coldest May in at least a dozen years" said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research.
"As a result, consumers' demand for hot weather goods such as air conditioners, fans, pool supplies, swim suits and the like was curbed. However, with the industry facing a tough comparison in May 2005 against May 2004's 5.7 percent increase and less than favorable weather, the industry performed reasonably well over the past four weeks," Niemira added.
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.
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