Shoppers returning to the mall — finally

Sales at U.S. department stores just grew for the first time in more than a year after stimulus checks and holiday returns drove Americans back to the mall.

After a difficult 2020 that saw consumers eschew brick-andmortar shopping in favor of delivery giants like Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc., department-store sales rose 1.5 percent in January, marking the first positive month since December 2019, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. In fact, every retail sector — besides apparel — posted positive year-on-year gains in January.

The hardware and furnishing sectors saw the biggest growth in January, with Americans still spending to improve the homes they’ve been stuck in throughout

the pandemic. But even department stores logged a rare month of growth, which Sadove attributed to holiday gift-card redemptions and in-person gift returns — which often translate into a new, bigger sale.

Total retail sales, excluding cars and gasoline, rose 9.2 percent last month from a year earlier, said Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks online and in-store retail sales. Online sales grew 62.1 percent.