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Retailers flourish in October

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By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM The New York Times

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 5, 2009

October was by far the best month U.S. retailers have had since consumers put the brakes on spending a year ago. Major categories had robust sales growth for the first time in more than a year, new figures show.

Today, when individual chains report October's sales, the industry is expected to post its strongest sales figures yet in this recession. Contrary to predictions made only a few weeks ago, the nation's stores could be poised for a merrier Christmas this year than last.

To be sure, the enthusiasm of industry professionals is tempered. A major reason the latest numbers look so good is that they are being compared with figures from October 2008, the first full month of a brutal nationwide spending freeze.

"Things are better than they were a year ago," said Michael McNamara, vice president for research and analysis at SpendingPulse, an information service by MasterCard Advisors. "But we're still below where we were two years ago."

Nonetheless, the signs of recovery were unmistakable in the sales numbers MasterCard Advisors released late Tuesday.

One sign was that retailers were able to drive sales in October without offering the kinds of deep margin-eroding discounts they dangled last year. "That's generally a positive," McNamara said.

"Even though the number of purchases may not be spiking, it could be an indication that inventory and demand are more lined up."

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