Warm Weather, Father's Day to Help June Sales
June sales got off to a good start.
Chain-store sales for the week ending June 10 increased 3 percent compared with the same week in the previous year, according to the New York–based International Council of Shopping Centers. ICSC chief economist Michael Niemira credited the sales increase to warm weather.
“Sales spurted during the first week of the fiscal month of June, as a bout of hot weather was the catalyst for apparel demand, in particular,” Niemira said.
The ICSC forecasts June sales for chain stores to increase by 3 percent to 4 percent at the end of the month.
The sales increase could be helped out by Father’s Day, which falls on June 20, according to the Washington D.C.–based National Retail Federation. The NRF released its 2010 Father’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey on June 3. It found the average consumer will spend $94.32 on gifts for Father’s Day, up from $90.89, which the average consumer spent on Father’s Day in 2009. Total Father’s Day spending is expected to reach $9.8 billion, according to the survey.
The survey found that 36.7 percent of those polled intend to give a gift of clothing, 39.9 percent plan to make a gift of a meal at a restaurant and more than $1.2 billion will be spent on electronics gifts. Three out of 10 surveyed said they plan to give a gift card for Father’s Day.—Andrew Asch
