NEW YORK – Sales at U.S. retail stores open at least one year were unchanged over the past week after falling 1.5 percent the week before, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities LLC report for the seven days ended May 26, Bloomberg News said.
Compared with the same week of 2006, sales rose 2.9 percent, the biggest increase since the week ended April 7, the ICSC said. Analysts credited purchases of summer-weight clothing ahead of the Memorial Day holiday.
“Better temperatures ahead of the weekend likely helped seasonal business,” UBS analyst Michelle Tan wrote in a note today, according to Bloomberg.
For all of May, Tan said same-store sales would “rebound” along with the weather. That matches the prediction today by ICSC and UBS Securities that May sales will increase by by 2 percent to 2.5 percent compared with May 2006.
The International Council of Shopping Centers 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.
