Top U.S. retailers will give investors the most detailed picture yet of holiday sales this week, with most expected to show better sales after an abysmal 2008 performance.
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The retailers will report sales at stores open at least a year, data that may also shed light on their positions heading into the spring season. Wall Street is predicting a tougher environment as consumers return to saving money.
Chains from Costco Wholesale Corp to Macy's Inc to Abercrombie & Fitch will report December same-store sales data Wednesday and Thursday. Analysts expect a 1.3 percent increase from a year earlier at 30 retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters Data.
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That would mark the fourth consecutive monthly sales increase, aft er a straight year's worth of declines during the recession.
Jharonne Martis, director of consumer research for Thomson Reuters, said the December results should reflect an improvement from last year, when same-store sales fell 3.6 percent, but not an economic recovery.














