Retail solid in early November

National retail sales in November are off to a good start.

Helped by several factors, including cold weather and lower gasoline prices, retail sales across the country were up 1.2 percent week-to-week for the week ending Nov. 9, according to data released Tuesday by theInternational Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Stores Sales Index.

Year-to-year, sales jumped 2.3 percent during the first week of November, according to both retail entities.

That was good news for the upcoming holiday shopping season, and there’s reason to  believe some consumers are holding back on their Christmas spending, maybe in anticipation of Black Friday promotions, said Michael Niemira, the council’s chief economist and vice president of research.

One Inland Empire shopping mall is already seeing some holiday shopping.

“From what our retailers are saying, traffic is up and sales are better than they expected them to be,” said Christina Riojas, marketing manager at the Galleria at Tyler in Riverside. “We don’t have numbers yet, but it looks like we’re going to have a positive season.”

Black Friday isn’t until Nov. 29, so the short shopping season might be getting some people into stores earlier than normal, Riojas said.