WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- U.S. retail sales receipts rose 0.4 percent in the week ending Saturday after five consecutive weekly declines, a national trade group said.
The International Council of Shopping Centers in Washington said sales rose week-to-week and climbed 2.8 percent compared to the same week a year earlier.
The trade group said in Tuesday's report shoppers "switched their shopping venues during the past week with more apparel-store shopping than the same week of the prior year, flat department store shopping and sharply lower discounter business."
Weather Trends International said it was a slightly cooler week than the same week a year earlier, but still warmer than the week's long-term average.
For the ninth consecutive week, the price of gasoline fell, giving shoppers slightly more change in their pockets. The average price of gasoline is down 32.9 percent per gallon over the nine-week stretch, hitting $3.612 per gallon on June 4, the Energy Information Administration said.
