money.cnn.com/2009/02/12/news/economy/retail_sales/inde -
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Published on: 2/12/2009
Last Visited: 2/13/2009
There's no way these numbers could be as positive as they were," said Bob Duffy, senior managing director with global advisory firm FTI Consulting.
Duffy said he looks at retailers' monthly same-store sales numbers "to get a better pulse of what is actually happening in the industry."
"I think was happened last month was retailers were trying to generate additional cash.
So a lot of merchandise was on clearance," Duffy said.
"The 50%, 60% discounts were driving some consumers to spend, but this can't go on long term.
I am not saying something turned [for retailers] last month," he said.
Even the National Retail Federation (NRF), the industry's largest trade group, tempered expectations that retail sales could be recovering after a brutal 2008.