US DATA: wk 24-Mar Redbook Average: “Sales in the fourth week of
March were driven by a combination of seasonal demand for spring
merchandise and interest in Easter related merchandise. Spring
officially began on March 20th; students on spring break during this
period also helped to give sales and traffic an extra boost. Spring
business, which focused on seasonal apparel and outdoor categories, was
aided by warm weather in many parts of the country. Easter buying
continued to show its traditional territorial bias, and was more intense
in the southern states.”
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Year-over-year: Week (w/e 03/24/12 vs year-ago) 3.8%
Year-over-year: Month (March 2012 vs March 2011) 3.4%
Month-over-month: (March 2012 vs February 2012) 0.5%