The last minute will be a crucial one for U.S. retailers looking to make holiday sales as data released on Tuesday, one week before Christmas, show that consumers continue to procrastinate and that last week’s wicked weather stymied holiday shopping.

For the week ended December 15, sales at U.S. retail chain stores open at least a year rose 2.1 percent, the smallest year-over-year advance since June 23, according to data from the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities LLC.

“ICSC-UBS household surveys continue to show that consumers are completing their holiday season shopping slower than at comparable times in prior years,” the ICSC said in a note.

The group said that “to the chagrin of retailers,” consumers are making fewer visits to stores due to the high price of gasoline.

The holiday season, the crucial one for retailers, typically hinges on last-minute shoppers.

But this year that trend is even more pronounced, as consumers, contending with rising food and fuel prices, seek out deeper discounts from retailers closer to Christmas.