"It's been a strong spring for many retailers," said Michael Brown, a partner in the retail practice at A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting
In fact, despite the weak finish to the first quarter, Target said Thursday that revenue in stores open at least a year rose 5.3 percent during the February through April period, the strongest performance in six years for that period.
And there are still signs that the economy is improving. For instance, The Labor Department reported on Thursday that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week by the most in more than three months. Last month, applications jumped after steadily declining in the fall.
"This is a two-to-three month story," said Alison Jatlow Levy, a retail strategist at consulting firm Kurt Salmon. "The U.S. economy isn't out of the woods."
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