Luxury department store sales rose 7.1% last month, with Neiman Marcus, up 11%, and Nordstrom, jumping by 7.4%, leading the way. Retail analyst Katherine Galligan with Aperion Group reported that those retailers "have excellent spring merchandise and we observed an encouraging level of foot traffic during each of our weekly walk-throughs in local stores."

Overall department store sales inched up by 1.3%, just below the 1.6% average monthly increase for the fiscal year. Of those chains, May Department Stores, falling by 2.9%, and Saks Inc., posting a 1.2% drop, fared the worst.

Apparel fell overall by 0.1%, mainly due to Gap Inc.'s 5% plunge. Abercrombie & Fitch recorded its sixth-straight month of double-digit comps, soaring up by 29%. Noted Piper Jaffray retail analyst Jeffrey Klinefelter on the retailer's success, "[Abercrombie] has been able to offer more differentiated and edgy styles than the traditional mall retailer."