Chain Store Sales Up 0.1% in Week Ended Jan. 14

NEW YORK - Despite the continuation of mild weather across the country consumers continued to redeem their holiday gift cards and gave retailers their first week of positive sales results for 2012. As a result, for the week ending January 14, weekly retail sales rose by 0.1 percent, according to International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. In addition to the weekly increase, retail sales on a year-over-year basis bounced back and rose by 3.0%.

"This past week was another week of light volume for the nation's retailers as unseasonable mild weather put a damper on the need for seasonal merchandise," said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist. "However, despite this, consumers were out redeeming their gift cards which drove weekly sales overall," added Niemira.

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