November chain store sales rise 3.5 percent

International Council of Shopping Centers: U.S. chain store sales for November grew 3.5 percent year on year, according to ICSC's index. The gain was the strongest since March, when sales grew 5.9 percent, but ICSC estimates that between 0.75 and 1 percent of the November results is attributable to a year-on-year calendar mismatch that yielded an extra week of sales this year.

Many retailers do not adjust for this "53rd week" in the calendar year, which produced an additional week of post-Thanksgiving sales versus a year ago.

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