NEW YORK – Sales at U.S. retail stores open at least one year increased 0.8 percent over the past week, after falling 0.6 percent the week before, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities LLC report for the seven days ended May 12, Bloomberg News said.
Compared with the same week of 2006, sales increased 2.6 percent last week after rising 1.7 percent the week before. “Over the last week we did see a pickup in summer goods after a period that was really pretty soft through the month of April,” said Michael Niemira, the ICSC’s chief economist. “It was driven by better weather and Mother’s Day, which were catalysts for getting out and shopping.”
But with gasoline prices high and consumer confidence low, the ICSC said sales may slow in the second half of the month. For all of May, it predicted sales will increase 2 to 2.5 percent above year-ago levels.
“Gas prices are a renewed worry,” Niemira said, “and as we hit record prices, the net effect on spending could be significant. The whole spending pie has shrunk a bit.”
The International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York-based trade group, and investment bank UBS track same-store sales at about 60 chains that represent about 10 percent of U.S. retail sales. Additional information is available at www.icsc.org.
