Chain store sales slumped 2.0% in the week ended May 11, while year-over-year sales rose 1.2%, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs weekly survey of comparable chain-store sales, published Tuesday.
"Abnormally cold weather in the mid-sections of the nation continued to pare seasonal merchandise demand, while the Northwest and Northeast were warmer than last year helping seasonal demand modestly," said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist. "The rollercoaster pattern of sales growth from week to week reflects a confluence of factors - economic and environmental - that sway the number positively for a given period and sometimes those factors sway the number negatively."
