NEW YORK, Feb 10 - Clearance of winter-related items just ahead of spring restocking pushed up U.S. chain store sales in the latest week, Redbook said in a report on Tuesday. The pace of sales at major retailers increased by 4.4 percent on a year-over-year basis for the week ended Feb. 7, up from the preceding week's 3.9 percent pace, the report said. Sales in February so far were up 0.4 percent when compared with January. Cold weather across the country helped retailers clear out their winter goods, as spring merchandise began to roll into stores, the report said.
Redbook noted that February is usually the smallest month of the quarter in terms of sales volume. The Redbook data are compiled from a sample of same-store sales at general merchandise retailers representing about 9,000 stores. Same-store sales measure revenue at stores open at least one year.||