Love was in the air for comps

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 2/20/2013 1:25:56 PM

New York - Valentine's Day promos helped push comps up 3.1% in the second week of February following a 2.4% gain the prior week, according to The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index.

Comps rose 4.0% in the discount store channel for the week ended Feb. 16. Same-store sales were up 1.5% in the department store sector.

Shoppers finished their Valentine's Day shopping by mid-week and began to take advantage of President's Day promotions toward the end of the week, noted Redbook analyst Catlin Levis.

"Some attributed the strength to the fact that this year's Valentine's Day fell on the second week of the retail calendar, versus the third week last year, which positively affected comparisons for retailers," she added.

Sales were healthy in traditional Valentine's Day categories such as flowers, cosmetics, jewelry and candy. The in customer traffic also lifted sales in categories not directly related to the event, including basic and seasonal apparel, food and household goods, all of which saw satisfactory business.