Global| May 29 2013U.S. Chain Store Sales Remain Down Versus Last Month
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Forward momentum in consumer spending was lost in May. The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported that chain store sales slumped 0.9% last week (2.8% y/y). That was enough to pull sales so far this month [...]
Forward momentum in consumer spending was lost in May. The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported that chain store sales slumped 0.9% last week (2.8% y/y). That was enough to pull sales so far this month 2.2% below the April average which was a record high. During the last ten years there has been a 61% correlation between the y/y change in chain store sales and the change in retail sales at general merchandise stores. That correlation recently has declined.
General merchandise store sales account for 15% of total retail sales. The ICSC-Goldman Sachs retail chain-store sales index is constructed using the same-store sales (stores open for one year) reported by 78 stores of seven retailers: Dayton Hudson, Federated, Kmart, May, J.C. Penney, Sears and Wal-Mart.
The chain store figures can be found in Haver's SURVEYW database.
| ICSC-Goldman Sachs (SA, 1977=100) | 05/25/13 | 05/18/13 | 05/11/13 | Y/Y | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Weekly Chain Store Sales | 543.1 | 547.9 | 546.9 | 2.8% | 3.0% | 3.2% | 2.9% |
| W/W % | -0.9 | 0.2 | -2.0 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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