Shoppers seek new deals after 2-week pause

Shoppers came out again to seriously shop last week after a two-week lull, adding to evidence of a healthy but measured sales increase for the holiday season.

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

That increase follows two consecutive weekly declines, compared with the previous weeks, as shoppers took a break after a record, discount-fueled spending spree over the Thanksgiving weekend, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.

"Consumers were out in force this past week trying to complete their holiday shopping," said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers.

A report on weekly holiday shopping from The NPD Group also showed shoppers returning. Of those visiting stores in the week ending Monday, 68.1 percent of them made purchases, a slight increase from the 67 percent shopping in the previous two weeks, the Port Washington-based market research firm said.

"Consumers are seeking out the deal all season, and the deals are just now starting to shape up for some more dramatic discounts without the crazy hours to get them," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for The NPD Group.

The International Council of Shopping Centers is forecasting its Index of Chain Store Sales to rise 3.5 percent from last year's holiday shopping period.

Overall, Pearl Kamer, chief economist for the Long Island Association, is predicting a 3 percent rise in holiday sales in Nassau and Suffolk counties from last year. Sales tax revenue collected in November was up 1.7 percent from the same period last year.

"It's not going to be the best holiday season we've ever seen and not the worst," Kamer said. "Consumers are convinced that the bottom is not going to fall out of the economy, but they are going to look for bargains. You wouldn't expect the best, given that we're still losing jobs and home prices are still falling."

With AP