The post-Thanksgiving shopping rush pushed weekly chain store sales up 2.6 percent from a year ago with department stores appearing to be among the strongest performers.
Data released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers showed that sales were down 0.4 percent from the previous week but were outpacing the same week of 2005.
“Generally, sales in the post-Thanksgiving period were especially strong at department stores,” the council’s weekly report said. “Department stores even saw strong demand for full-priced merchandise and not just highly promotional items.”
The group will release detailed data on department store sales Thursday when it issues its monthly sales report. November chain-store sales are expected too show a gain of 2.5 percent.
The weekly data showed that chain store sales started slowly but picked up at the end of the week, driven largely by bargain-seeking shoppers like Howard Thomas.
Thomas, 35, of Aurora hit the stores at 5:15 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving, lured by the promise of low prices on televisions, gaming systems and toys.
“I’m trying to catch the deals,” he said.
Analysts are mixed on the possibility that such enthusiastic spending will continue through the holiday season. While weekend spending reports were positive, Wal-Mart has warned that November sales will be down.
“I don’t think we should extrapolate this weekend’s sales for the entire holiday season because those deals won’t continue during December,” said Rob Plaza, an analyst with Zack’s Equity Research, in a statement issued Tuesday.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-954-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
