Check out the January chill at chain stores.
 
Chain store sales fell 1.2 percent in the latest week according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities. That was the largest weekly decline since Dec. 1, ICSC/UBS said.
 
“The consumer is not motivated to shop and spend this January –aside from necessities– and the sales performance has reflected just that,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC’s chief economist.
 
ICSC now expects same-store sales for all of January to be flat or even down. Sales for the month are typically low, so they are more susceptible to special factors like the weather or promotions, ICSC said in its weekly report.
 
ICSC estimates a 1 percent drop in same-store sales at Target, an 8 percent drop at Macy’s and a 7 percent drop at J.C. Penney. Wal-Mart is estimated to post a 1.5 percent increase.
 
Wal-Mart is trying to add to its sales with an unusually timed price cut. The world’s largest retailer said Tuesday that it would cut prices on thousands of items by 10 percent to 30 percent.
 
The discounter has made such wide-reaching price cuts before, but they typically come during the key holiday season.
 
But with some economists saying the U.S. economy is already in a recession, retailers are not afraid of trying the unusual to get shoppers into their stores.
 
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 (Photo: Reuters)