Press Release:
NEW YORK, August 30, 2012 – U.S. chain-store sales rose by 6.0% (less drug stores) for the month of August on a year-over-year basis according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). The gain was appreciably above the 4.6% increase in July.
“Back to school spending was especially strong in August,” said Michael P. Niemira, vice president of research and chief economist for ICSC.
“The August acceleration was propelled by numerous state sales tax holidays and retailer promotions, which helped drive consumer traffic and sales.”
For September, ICSC research anticipates that the sales pace will moderate slightly to 3.0% – 4.0% increase (excluding drug stores).
ICSC Chain Store Sales Trends is a monthly report on the U.S. retail industry’s sales performance based on an ICSC preliminary compilation of publicly-available sales for 18 chain stores during the month of August.
These data will be updated after the Walgreen Company reports its August sales. Industry sales aggregates are compiled for “comparable-store” or “same-store” sales and for total store sales. Those data are presented as an index.
Comparable-store sales are also compiled for specialized-industry groupings, which include aggregates for apparel chain stores, department stores, discount stores, drug stores, footwear stores and wholesale clubs.
For the complete report, please use the following member ID number
(1177584), password (press2002pass) and link https://www.icsc.org/cgi/rsrchshow?section=cs.
About ICSC
Founded in 1957, ICSC is the premier global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its more than 55,000 members in over 90 countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, retailers and brokers, as well as academics and public officials. As the global industry trade association, ICSC links with more than 25 national and regional shopping center councils throughout the world. For more information, visit
