Reuters Business Report
Chain Store Sales Fell in Aug. 17 Week
Tuesday August 20, 7:45 am ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sales at U.S. chain stores fell last week, a report on Tuesday showed, as consumers, worried that the economy could take time to return to solid growth, held off on major purchases.
U.S. chain store sales slipped 0.8 percent in the week ended Aug. 17 after a 0.5 percent decline in the previous week, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UBS Warburg reported in their Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot.
"Sales were generally below plan for retailers," the report said, citing weak demand for back-to-school merchandise and fall clothing.
The BTM/UBSW Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot is compiled from seven major discount, department and chain stores across the country that report their weekly results.
Those stores include J.C. Penney, Sears, Target, Kmart, Wal-Mart, Federated Department Stores Inc. and May Department Stores Co. The BTM/UBSW index measures sales growth with the year 1977 equaling 100.
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