According to the ICSC-UBS weekly U.S. retail chain store sales index, retail sales were on the rebound last week after taking a big hit from the Northeast snowstorm the first weekend in December.

Based on data compiled by the International Council of Shopping Centers, same-store sales for the week ending December 13 were up 5.1% versus the year-ago week and up 2.1% from the previous week, which had seen a 2.5% drop versus the prior week.

The index is compiled from data obtained from about 80 chain stores.

“Sales volume will continue to grow as Christmas and Hanukkah approach and consumers play some catch-up shopping,” said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC’s chief economist and director of research. “Overall, I expect December sales will grow by about 4.5% on a year-over-year basis.”

The increase was buttressed by discounter sales of food and pharmacy goods and by department store apparel sales, the report said.

The report also gave projections of year-over-year December sales for a few key retailers. Target is expected to increase 4% from December 2002 and J.C. Penney is estimated to gain 2% over the last year period. May Company December comps are expected to be flat year-on-year.

Consumers will have to make a major sprint to the finish line as we enter tha last shopping weekend before Christmas. The weekend after Christmas is also expected to show banner results as consumers cash is the ever-more-popular gift cards they received this year.

According to the third installment of the NRF 2003 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation, the average consumer had completed only 52% of their shopping as of last Wednesday, December 10, despite one more shopping day this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year at this time, 15% of consumers had completed their shopping, while this year only 10% of consumers are finished.

“We are a nation of procrastinators,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “With many consumers completing their holiday shopping-and some of them just starting-retailers are expecting crowded parking lots and heavy traffic this weekend.”


The Saturday before Christmas is the busiest shopping day of the year.

As expected, apparel has been one of the most popular gifts this holiday season, with 44.6% of consumers already having purchased clothing or clothing accessories. Books, CDs, DVDs, videos and video games are also high on gift lists – 44.6% of consumers have purchased those gifts as well. Also, 36.5% of consumers have purchased toys and 22.8% have bought gift cards.
“Retailers’ promotions and sales will continue throughout the weekend,” said Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch. “Though we won’t be seeing storewide markdowns like we have the last few years, last-minute shoppers will be able to find great values in almost any store.”


A variety of retailers should benefit from increased traffic this weekend. According to the survey, 49.8% of consumers plan to conduct the remainder of their holiday shopping at discount stores, while 43.6% plan to shop at department stores. Nearly a third of consumers will be completing their shopping at specialty stores (32.1%) and online (30.2%).

NRF continues to project that holiday sales will increase 5.7% this year to $217.4 billion, which would be the largest increase since 1999.