U.S. chain store sales rose 3 percent in May on a year-over-year same-store basis, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, Inc.

“May came in better than expected,” said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC’s chief economist and director of research. “But, it is very clear that consumers are spending in a conservative manner as the lift largely came from an increase in sales in the wholesale, drug store and discount sectors. Looking forward to June, ICSC research expects a 2.5-3 percent increase which will be helped by fuller distribution of the federal stimulus money.”

ICSC Chain Store Sales Trends is a monthly report on the U.S. retail industry’s sales performance based on an ICSC preliminary compilation of publicly-available sales for 37 chain stores during the month of May. Industry sales aggregates are compiled for “same-store” sales and for total store sales. Those data are presented as an index with a 1977=100 base. Same-store sales are also compiled for specialized-industry groupings, which include aggregates for apparel chain stores, department stores, discount stores, drug stores, footwear stores, furniture chain stores and wholesale clubs.

JCK