U.S. chain store sales posted a 3.0% year-over-year comparable-store gain for June 2010 according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, Inc. (ICSC). The best performing segments overall were luxury (+8.8%) and department stores (+5.9%).

“The June performance was relatively uneven as lower prices and discounting held back the reported pace of spending,” said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for ICSC. “Still, the increase means that on a fiscal year-to-date basis total sales grew by 3.8%, marking its best performance since 2006,” Niemira added.

For July, ICSC expects that the pace of sales will continue to increase within the 3-4% range on a year-over-year basis.

ICSC Chain Store Sales Trends is a monthly report on the U.S. retail industry’s sales performance based on an ICSC preliminary compilation of publicly-available sales for 31 chain stores during the month of June. Industry sales aggregates are compiled for “comparable-store” or “same-store” sales and for total store sales. Those data are presented as an index with a 1977=100 base. Comparable-store sales are also compiled for specialized-industry groupings, which include aggregates for apparel chain stores, department stores, discount stores, drug stores, footwear stores and wholesale clubs.