IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Retailers appear to be in a good position heading into the holiday shopping season.
National sales were up 1.7 percent during the week that ended Saturday compared with the same week in 2013, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index, which was released Tuesday.
Perhaps even better, sales were up 2.2 percent compared with the previous week, a positive sign as the official start of the Christmas shopping season approached.
Several factors, including a spate of pre-Black Friday promotions, helped propel week-over-week sales, said Michael Niemira, a research consultant with the council, in a statement.
The weather, always a major influence on shopping patterns, had a mixed influence on U.S. retail last week. On the one hand, colder weather got shoppers buying winter clothing, but extreme weather on the east coast made it difficult for a lot of people to shop, Niemira said.
The New York-based council, which has also cited lower gasoline prices as a factor in the recent positive retail numbers, has predicted a four to 4.5 percent increase in retail sales in November. This week’s report did not include a forecast.
