NEW YORK, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. retailers enjoyed sales growth as the holiday gift-buying season drew to a close, the International Council of Shopping Centers said Tuesday.
Sales climbed 1.4 percent from the previous week and 2.7 percent compared to the same week of 2012, the trade group said, calling the gains "solid."
"Consumers really began wrapping up their holiday shopping purchases this past week," the trade group said.
In the national survey done each year in the gift-buying season, ICSC said that the completion rate -- the percentage of consumers who indicated they were done with holiday purchases -- had reached 83.5 percent in the week ending Saturday.
Although the numbers appear to contradict themselves, when asked if they planned to shop on Christmas Eve, 31 percent of consumers indicated they would, ICSC said.
