Retailers delivered another decent performance last month, with shoppers continuing to spend despite poor weather, high gasoline prices and a later Easter.
Retail analysts had expected to see the first monthly sales decline since 2009 because of those factors, which threatened to slow the industry’s recent momentum.
But shoppers couldn’t be deterred. On Thursday, the nation’s retailers reported a modest 1.7% year-over-year increase for March, better than the 0.7% decline that had been expected, according to Thomson Reuter’ tally of 25 major retail chains.
Full Story: Retail sales: Consumers upset predictions as March retail sales rise – latimes.com