Retail sales jumped 3.1 percent last month

LOS ANGELES – Attracted by deep discounts and promotions, shoppers headed to the malls in November and handed the nation’s retailers a solid start to the crucial holiday season.

Major retail chain stores posted a 3.1 percent gain in November over a year ago, according to a preliminary Thomson Reuters tally of 20 large retailers.

Top performers were a mixture of high- and low-end stores. Buoyed by a comeback of wealthy shoppers, luxury retailer Saks Inc. reported a 9.3 percent increase while Nordstrom saw a 5.6 percent bump. Costco Wholesale Corp. said sales rose 9 percent. Limited Brands, parent company of Bath and Body Works and Victoria’s Secret stores, had a 7 percent increase.

Several department stores did not fare well. Despite opening at midnight on Thanksgiving for the first time ever, Kohl’s reported a 6.2 percent drop. J.C. Penney said sales fell 2 percent.

Results are based on sales at stores open at least a year.Analysts say that earlier-than-ever openings on Black Friday weekend and heavy promotions lured shoppers into the malls last month, but some question whether that momentum can be sustained through the end of the year.

Los Angeles Times