Positve Retail Sales for October

Retail sales rose in October which is encouraging, and optimism for a good holiday sales period appear to be growing.  Some report highlights:

• Target same store sales rose 2.4%
• Macy’s same store sales increased 4.1%
• Kohl’s comps rose 3.3% - more than the expected 1.1%
• Nordstrom posted a rise of 9.9% in same store sales which was 3.9% higher than forecasted.
• The 17 retailers Thomson Reuters tracks reported a 4.7% growth in same store sales.
• Gap same store sales rose 4%