Report: Weekly chain same-store sales edge up 2.4%

New York City A report released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs said that, although there was little week-to-week change in U.S. chain store sales over this past week, same-store sales did increase 2.4% from one year ago.

“Sales edged lower again in the latest week as mild weather depressed sales of seasonal goods,” said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC's chief economist. “Customer traffic patterns were also mixed, with improvement at department stores, but weaker at grocery stores, drug stores and discounters.

"Easy year-over-year comparisons will dominate throughout the month of November and as a result, ICSC Research expects November sales could be as strong as up 5% to 8% for the month -- but right now, sales are tracking under that easy-comparison inflated pace,” Niemira added.

October numbers from the government, which came out Monday, reflected a 1.7% drop in overall retail sales, while department store sales fell 2.9% to $15.6 billion. The National Retail Federation also reported a 1.3% sales contraction for October.