Dive Brief:

• There was another indication Tuesday that consumers’ wallets have thawed after a long winter with the report from the U.S. Commerce Department that retail sales rose .9% in March after falling .5% in February. 

• Taking away auto, gas, building materials, and restaurants, retail sales grew .3% in March, according to the report.

• The results were backed up by analytics firm RetailNext, which found a 5.8% increase in sales per shopper, the strongest growth in more than a year, plus higher conversion and average transaction value. And Euclid Analytics similarly found higher in-store sales and traffic last month. 

Dive Insight:

As the economy continues to find firmer ground a ridiculously severe winter in many parts of the country is giving way — and consumers are apparently responding with spending. 

It’s not a boom, but something of a thaw, with physical retail in particular having mixed results last month. Analytics firm RetailNext found that traffic fell 8.2% overall at physical stores nationally, but with great variations by region.

“All regions encountered strong, positive trends in sales per shopper, indicating consumer commitment once shoppers entered stores,” according to the RetailNext March 2015 Retail Performance Pulse. “Relatively strong performance across regions was attributed to warm weather, which supported demand for seasonal products.”