Department store group Macy’s sales rose 4.3% to $6.1bn (£3.8m) in the first quarter of 2012 when like-for-likes were up 4.4%. Online sales – Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com combined – climbed 33.7%. Online sales are included in the like-for-like sales calculation and lifted the retailer’s like-for-likes by 1.5 percentage points. Macy’s opened new stores in Salt Lake City, Utah and Greendale, Wisconsin during the quarter.

Macy’s chairman and chief executive Terry Lundgren said: “The quarterly data clearly demonstrates the strength of our results as we continue to implement our key strategies – My Macy’s merchandise localisation, omni-channel integration of stores, online and mobile, and enhanced customer engagement.”