Weekly chain-store sales rise 3%

Research released Wednesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs found that U.S. chain-store sales rose 3% for the week ending on June 5, compared with a year earlier.

On a week-to-week basis, sales inched up 0.8%.

“Sales spurted during the first week of the fiscal month of June as a bout of hot weather was the catalyst for apparel demand, in particular,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC's director of research and chief economist.

ICSC said it expects sales to rise by between 3% to 4% year on year in June due to easy comparisons against 2009, as well as the “warm weather lift,” Niemira said.