Weekly chain-store sales rise 4.4%

New York City Research released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs found that chain-store sales for the week ended May 1 rose 4.4% from the year-earlier period.

On a week-over-week basis, sales fell 0.4%.

"Sales for the final week of the April fiscal month slid, but customer traffic continued to show solid gains at discounters, department stores and apparel stores," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist. "The pace of spending was somewhat more subdued this past week then in recent weeks.”

Still, added Niemira, the month-adjusted for the Easter seasonal shift held up well, though the reported unadjusted numbers for April “will likely be flat to down slightly after the 9% spike in March."