NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Year-over-year retail sales sank 3.3 percent in the second week of the holiday shopping season after two days of snowstorms in the Northeast, raising questions about the most lucrative time of year for store chains.
But week-over-week sales improved significantly for the week ended Dec. 6, rising 8.6 percent over the prior week ended Nov. 29, according to ShopperTrak, which tracks sales at 30,000 stores across the country.
Despite the decline, industry analysts said there was probably still time for the nation's merchants to recoup lost sales and post strong results for the season.
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| Shoppers in New York took advantage of sunshine and clean sidewalks to make up for some lost shopping time. |
"Despite the weather-induced dip in sales compared to the same period last year, it is not clear whether it was just a shifting in demand to future shopping days or mediums such as online and catalog sales," Michael Niemira, senior economist with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and lead consultant for ShopperTrak, wrote in a report.
But Niemira said he was optimistic that the holiday season could get back on track after a strong start this year, with sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, up 4.8 percent to $7.2 billion.
"For now it seems as though the industry will have time to recoup the loss in demand due to Mother Nature," Niemira added.
Holiday sales overall are expected to grow about 4 percent this year, on average, after last year's anemic 2.2 percent increase, which was the worst performance in a decade.
The holidays are critical for retailers, many of which post half or more of their annual sales and profits during the season.
Anecdotal evidence from a few malls in the Northeast Monday suggested that retailers were hoping the weekend wouldn't be a complete disaster when the final numbers were tallied.
A manager at a Gap (GPS: Research, Estimates) store at the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack, N.Y., told CNN/Money that a few stores at the mall were closed Saturday but Sunday was "surprisingly busy."
Separately, at the J.C. Penney (JCP: Research, Estimates) store at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, N.Y., Darcy, a store manager, said Saturday was a lot slower compared with last year but that Sunday had brought in a flock of shoppers.
Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Consulting Group, said he agreed with Niemira that retailers have enough time to make up for last week's shortfall.
"This loss will be easily made up," Barnard said. "If I want to buy some jewelry for my wife, do you think I'm going to let one snow storm stop me? No, I won't. Consumers will get their shopping done this week and in the days leading up to Christmas."
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