March brought U.S. retailers their largest monthly sales gain in half a year, rising 4 to 5 percent above those in March 2006, according to preliminary figures released today by the International Council of Shopping Centers, Bloomberg News said.
For the week ended April 7 – the day before Easter – sales surged 0.9 percent, after edging up 0.3 percent the week before. Compared with year-ago levels, same-store sales rose 4 percent after gaining 4.9 percent the week before.
“Consumer spending was impacted by two drivers this past week – the need for Easter-related merchandise and a bout of cold seasonal weather, which tempered spending on spring apparel,” Michael Niemira, ICSC’s chief economist, said in the report.
The second-warmest March on record and an early Easter – eight days earlier than last year’s – helped lift sales last month. But with the holiday over and what Weather Trends International said may be the coldest April in seven years setting in, the outlook for the rest of this month is less sunny, Bloomberg said.
The ICSC, 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.
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