US retailers can rejoice at the biggest overall increase in festive sales for several years, according to early indications.
Same-store sales in the week to December 27 climbed 5.5 per cent, according to figures from the International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS retail chain store index.
The increase would be the biggest since a 5.4 per cent rise in the Christmas week of 1999.
'Overall, the American consumer has not let retailers down,' said International Council of Shopping Centers economist Michael Niemira.
National Retail Federation chairman and chief executive Tracy Mullin said: 'This has clearly been a much stronger holiday season than last year.'
Meanwhile, the news from retailers has been mixed.
Wal-Mart reported that the last two days before Christmas had delivered a sales surge.
However, a spokesman said it was 'not enough to meet our original plan'. Wal-Mart expects the sales rise to be at the low end of the initial estimate of 3 to 5 per cent growth for December.
The consumer confidence index from research firm The Conference Board appeared to support Wal-Mart's cautious announcement - falling back from 92.5 in November to a below-expectation 91.3 in December.
Group research director Lynn Franco said: 'While consumers expect the job situation to improve in months ahead, until a significant turnaround takes place, consumers' optimism about present-day conditions will lag behind their expectations.'
Meanwhile, Kmart provided festive cheer with news that profits for November and December were expected to hit US$250 million (£137.2 million). However, same-store sales were down 13.5 per cent.
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