Mother’s Day Boosts U.S. Chain Store Retail Sales

Strong Mother's Day sales helped U.S. chain store retail sales rise for the second straight week as May got off to an encouraging start, according to a retail report by the International Council of Shopping Centers and investment bank UBS.

For the week ending May 7, sales increased 0.7 percent compared with a 0.5 percent rise in the prior week, the report said. Compared with the same week a year ago, the rise was even more marked, showing a 3.5 percent increase after a 3.0 percent rise the previous week.

"The first week of May began on a positive note as we saw retail chain store sales rise as Mother's Day (on May 8) provided the consumer with a need to shop and to spend," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research.

"Spending was uneven across the country, however, the Northeast and the Midwest posted the best gains while the weakest demand was in the South and West. For May, we expect sales to rise by 3.0 percent to 3.5 percent on a comp-store basis," Niemira added.

The ICSC-UBS Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot is put together from weekly results provided by a group of major discount, department and chain stores across the United States.