U.S. chain-store sales rose by 5.5 percent on a year-over-year basis according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Luxury sales rose by 10.4 percent and continued to be a key driver of total sales.
“Sales, although receiving a lift from fuel, still posted a very healthy gain for the month of September,” said Michael P. Niemira, vice president of research and chief economist for ICSC. “While luxury was once again a key driver of retail spending, new or temporary product lines at mass merchants aided in lifting industry sales as well,” Niemira added.
ICSC expects that October will continue this same picture with sales up around 5 percent.
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 26 chain stores during the month of September. 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.
Founded in 1957, ICSC is the premier global trade association of the shopping center industry.
