Wal Mart stores said Thursday December same-store sales rose 1.7% excluding fuel, falling short of the estimate for an increase of 2.8% in a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters. In the year-ago period, Wal-Mart said same-store sales rose 2.4%. "Due to the difficult economy and severe winter weather in some regions, the holiday season was more challenging for retailers than expected," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "We are pleased that we had positive traffic for the third month in a row and that Wal-Mart performed relatively well given the environment. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Wal-Mart-falls-short-same/story.aspx?guid={89404347-F906-4100-956C-EF3842C8306B}&dist=hplatest At least they rose 1.7 %
Not very encouraging due to the fact prices have been rising. The store manager at my supercenter has been spotted stocking shelves, they have been running out of stock on items I usually buy. On my last trip they were out of normal size bags they use to pack your groceries in. They were using some very large bags.