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by Tom Moeller March 4, 2008
The International Council of Shopping Centers ICSC-UBS Chain Store survey indicated that chain store sales fell 0.6% last week. The decline finished a four week period during which sales moved sideways. However, due to a firm 1.7% rise to open February sales for all of the month rose 0.4% from January following that month's 1.3% surge.
During the last ten years there has been a 45% correlation between the y/y change in chain store sales and the change in nonauto retail sales less gasoline.The ICSC-UBS retail chain-store sales index is constructed using the same-store sales (stores open for one year) reported by 78 stores of seven retailers: Dayton Hudson, Federated, Kmart, May, J.C. Penney, Sears and Wal-Mart.
During the latest week the leading indicator of chain store sales from ICSC-UBS fell 0.3% after a 0.8% decline during the prior period.The index has trended steadily lower since early January.
An Expanded Look at Employment from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis can be found here.
| ICSC-UBS (SA, 1977=100) | 03/01/08 | 02/23/08 | Y/Y | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Weekly Chain Store Sales | 487.0 | 489.9 | 2.1% | 2.8% | 3.3% | 3.6% |
