Chain store sales surged 3.3%, aided by Black Friday promotions, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot released Tuesday.
Year-over-year, sales rose 4.0%.
"Extra shopping hours on Thanksgiving Day gave way to extra sales providing a strong week-over-week gain for retailers," said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist. "Despite the longer hours, the ICSC-GS consumer tracking survey found that the average holiday-gift completion rate -- accounting for those that have yet to begin their holiday shopping -- was about the same as last year (31.6% vs. 31.9%). All in all, it was a strong start to a long holiday-shopping season and consumers clearly have a lot of gift buying still to do," Niemira added.
