WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) -- U.S. retail receipts jumped 4.7 percent in the week ending Saturday, a trade group in Washington said.
The International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs weekly sales report said sales rose week to week with a boost from Easter's early arrival. In 2012, Easter fell on April 8, while this year it came on March 31.
Cool weather continued to keep enthusiasm for spring items at bay, the report said. Compared to the same week a year earlier, sales were up 1.9 percent. At the same time, average temperatures for the week were 13.4 degrees Fahrenheit colder than the same week of 2012.
Weather Trends International Inc. said the current week was "another drastic decline in year‐over‐year temperatures, which made for continued unfavorable conditions for seasonal spring categories across the eastern two-thirds of the nation ... Meanwhile, the West [had] extremely favorable [weather conditions] with temperatures trending the third warmest in more than 22 years with relatively dry conditions."
