U.S. chain store retail sales fell for the second consecutive week, with weather cited as the principal factor, a retail report said Wednesday.
Sales fell 0.9 percent in the week ended January 15, compared with a 0.6 percent decline the previous week, the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS said in a joint report.
Compared with the same week a year ago, sales slowed to 4.1 percent increase after a 4.4 percent rise the preceding week.
"Although customer traffic flows were strong, seasonal goods did not move as well due to the backdrop of seasonably warm weather through much of January--despite the very recent blast of cold weather in the East," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research.
"On the positive side, gift card redemptions continue to help drive sales in January. For January, ICSC expects retail chain store sales to increase by approximately 3.0 percent on a year-over-year basis," Niemira added.
The ICSC-UBS Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot is compiled from a group of major discount, department and chain stores across the country that report their weekly results.