Many retailers reported a jump in November same-store sales on Thursday, reflecting the strong promotional environment and indicating improving consumer spending trends.
“Shoppers have been shaking off their recent cautiousness about spending, and any last doubts may have been removed by all the great deals that came early and often in November,” said Frank Badillo, senior economist at London-based Kantar Retail, who said the results bode well for the holidays.
Kantar said same-store sales at the 30 retailers it tracks were up 6%.
Among the food retailers that reported November sales were Minneapolis-based Target Corp., which said its same-store sales were up 5.5% in November compared with a year ago, bolstered by grocery-segment same-store sales gains “in the mid-teens.”
Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco Wholesale, meanwhile, reported 6% gains in November same-store sales in the U.S., excluding gas, and BJ’s Wholesale, Natick, Mass., reported a 3.8% increase in comparable-store sales for November, also excluding gas.
