IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
National retail sales dropped 1.2 percent for the week that ended Saturday, in part because of record travel during the Memorial Day weekend.
Bad weather in some heavily populated areas also contributed to the week-to-week decline, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index, which was released this week.
An estimated 36.1 million people traveled at least 50 miles from home during the weekend, the second-highest number for a three-day holiday weekend since 2000, stated the index, which cited data from the Automobile Association of America.
Year-to-year, same-store sales were up 2.1 percent.
The council is predicting that same-store sales will be up between three to 3.5 percent compared with May 2013.
