Sales Seen Up 3.8% as U.S. Weather Helps Year-End Surge: Retail

As Bing Crosby croons “White Christmas” in malls around the U.S., retailers from Chicago to Boston are betting on a snow-free weekend to cap a strong holiday shopping season.

Last year, a blizzard that began on Christmas closed thousands of stores on the East Coast the next day, when millions of consumers typically make exchanges and redeem gift cards.