Colder fall weather touched off a lust for fall apparel and boosted traffic in shopping malls and other outlets, according to a widely watched retail survey.
The Johnson Redbook Sales Index released Tuesday showed seasonally September sales grew 4.4 percent. The weekly index is said to provides advance warning of changes in consumer spending that in turn affect the business cycle, sector rotation, inflation and interest rates.
September sales at national chain stores fell 0.3 percent from August, according to Redbook, which expects October sales will grow 4.5 percent from a year earlier.
Separately, another measure of retail sales found same-store shopping center sales grew 0.1 percent in the week ended October 4, from the previous week.
The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index showed that sales for the recent one-week period were up 3.9 percent from a year earlier.
"Weather was favorable for seasonal apparel demand," Council economist Michael Niemira said.
Niemira added that business was strong for wholesale clubs, dollar stores, electronic stores, apparel stores and discounters.
Early in Tuesday's session shares were little changed for the exchange-traded retailers' fund SPDR S&P Retail XRT.
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