Trade group: Holiday shoppers step up buying

NEW YORK (AP) ? A trade group for U.S. malls is reporting a sharp increase in sales for the week that ended Saturday, but shoppers are still behind in holiday buying compared with a year ago.

Sales at stores opened at least a year rose 3.4 percent for the week ended Saturday, compared with the previous week, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index, released Tuesday. The increase followed two consecutive weekly declines, as shoppers took a break after a record spending spree over the Thanksgiving weekend, the official start of the holiday shopping season.

Sales for the recent week rose 4.6 percent compared with a year ago.

The weekly index is a sales proxy for 24 major stores, including Target Corp, Costco Wholesale Corp. and Macy's.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-20-US-Holiday%20Sales-ICSC/id-ee51216729334a3788465b40ef19cb86

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