In April 2012, the U.S. chain-store sales stood flat, as they rose by a bare 0.6 percent (on y-o-y basis), as per the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). The ICSC expects chain-store sales on a comparable-store basis in May to increase by 3 percent.

The April chain store sales performance was affected partly due to an earlier Easter holiday which brought about shopping patterns ahead of their usual time, reports say.