July Retail Sales Mixed
Economists and Wall Street analysts forecast mixed results for July retail sales. July’s broiling weather across much of the United States drove shoppers to air-conditioned malls. But consumers might not have opened their wallets as they sought refuge from the heat, said Michael P. Niemera, chief economist for trade group International Council of Shopping Centers.“Retailers are still waiting for Back-to-School shopping to pick up speed,” he wrote ina statement.
Although Niemera described the month’s sales performance as “relatively healthy” overall, the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index reported a slight drop in sales of 0.3 percent in the last week of the month. When compared with the same time in the previous year, sales for the week ending July 30 increased 4.0 percent.
During the last week of July, retailers’ sales changed from promoting “wear-now” clothes to Fall fashions and Back-to-School merchandise, according to an Aug. 2 research note from Adrienne Tennant of Janney Capital Markets. She also noted that many retailers were offering deep discounts the last weekend in July. For example, Chico’s ran a quot;buy one, get one 50 percent offquot; promotion on everything in the store that weekend, and Abercrombie & Fitch offered 50 percent off of all its denim.—Andrew Asch
