By the time the Commerce Department released its report Friday, various retailers had issued holiday results, so the signs of retail health in the government’s number-crunching didn’t come as much of a surprise.
For example, after warning of a tough holiday Target reported that same-store sales in November and December grew 3.4%, Nordstrom said that net sales rose 2.5% and same-store sales rose 1.2% in that period, and teen apparel retailer American Eagle beat forecasts with a same-store holiday sales rise of 8%.