Chain-store sales in the United States for the week ended March 12 increased 3.1 percent on the year, according to a survey published by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs.

On a week-on-week basis, sales edged up 0.1 percent, the ICSC reported.

"Customer traffic was relatively steady over the last week," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist, adding demand shifted towards drug stores, dollar stores and wholesale clubs.

"The latest week's consumer spending shift seemingly was more value driven and some of the discretionary segments, such as apparel and department stores were somewhat weaker," Niemira added.