Gas Prices, Easter | featured news

Big chains report an 8.9% increase from a year earlier, led by discounters and apparel stores. A later Easter is considered only partly responsible for the big jump.

Bad weather, higher gasoline prices and a later Easter were expected to result in the first monthly retail sales decline since 2009, but consumers continued to spend in March, giving retailers a modest 1.7% gain over the same period last year.Retailers delivered another decent performance last month, with shoppers continuing to spend despite poor weather, high gasoline prices and a later Easter.