U.S. retail sales surged 6% in April, the largest increase in two years, and may hit a new high on Mother's Day

U.S. retail sales surged 6% in April, the largest increase in two years, and may hit a new high on Mother's Day U.S. retail same-store sales surged 6% in April, as the weather improves,...

U.S. retail sales surged 6% in April, the largest increase in two years, and may hit a new high on Mother's Day Same-store sales in the U.S. retail industry surged 6% in April. As the weather improved, Easter was postponed, and aggressive promotions attracted shoppers, performance saw the largest growth since September 2011. The revenue growth rate of stores open for at least one year easily beat the average analyst forecast of 3.9% released by research firm Retail Metrics Inc. today. The combined revenue in March and April increased by 4.8% year-on-year. Retail Metrics pointed out that the state of the retail industry may not be completely clear yet. Positive results will have to extend into May to confirm the trend, and discounts as deep as 50% could hurt retail earnings in the first quarter. Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, said in a press release today: "We must continue our efforts and achieve excellent May performance with solid Mother's Day and Memorial Day weekend results before we can be more confident that consumers have returned." ?/DIV> Cato Corp. led the pack with growth of 18%. The women's clothing retailer raised its first-quarter profit forecast to $1.05 a share from its original estimate of as much as 95 cents. Cato shares surged 4.2% to $28.87. L Brands Inc., which owns Victoria’s Secret, and teen apparel chain Zumiez Inc., saw revenue grow 8% and 8.2% respectively. Costco Wholesale Corp.'s revenue rose 5%. Limited Brands shares rose 4.9% to $56.01. Zumiez rose 13% to $28.