Press Release:
LAST MINUTE SHOPPERS GIVE WEEKLY SALES A SOLID LIFT
Weekly Sales Rise for Second Consecutive Week
NEW YORK, December 28, 2011 – Last minute shoppers were out in force this past week as they finished up their holiday shopping giving retailers a strong two-week sales finish to the 2011 holiday season. Overall, for the week ending December 24, 2011 weekly retail sales rose by a solid 0.9 percent, according to International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. On a year-over-year basis, retail sales remained positive and relatively steady at 4.5 percent.
“As expected, holiday shopping went down to the wire as consumers took advantage of the full shopping week ahead of Christmas Day, which fell on a Sunday this year,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist. “Overall this holiday season appears to have been a positive one for retailers, though there were some pockets of weakness. Looking ahead, the ICSC-Goldman Sachs consumer tracking survey suggests that consumer gift-card expenditures were higher than in recent years, which suggests gift-card redemption in the coming weeks could be stronger than in recent years too,” added Niemira.
For December, ICSC expects that comparable-store sales will increase by 3.5 to 4.0 percent.
The Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot is produced by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs. This index measures U.S. nominal same-store or comparable-store sales excluding restaurant and vehicle demand.
