NEW YORK, Aug 12 - Sales at U.S. chain stores climbed last week, helped by summer sales, a report said on Tuesday. Sales at major U.S. chain stores rose 3.1 percent in the week ended Aug. 9 compared with the same week a year ago after rising 2.6 percent the previous week, the report said. Sales grew 0.7 percent compared with the previous month, Instinet Research said in its weekly Redbook report.
"As a growing trend, consumers are delaying purchases as long as possible and waiting for clearance sales later on," Redbook said. The report added that the benefits from tax rebate checks and back-to-school shopping have not yet been realized. The Redbook Average is compiled from a sample of general merchandise retailers representing about 9,000 stores. Same-store sales measure revenue at stores open at least a year. The index is released weekly by Instinet Research, a division of Instinet, a -owned electronic brokerage.//