Sales Soar on Last-Minute Spree

Dallying shoppers finally surged into stores in a last-minute Christmas buying spree last month and averted a widely feared sales slump, figures released by major U.S. retailers showed today.

No. 1 Sears, Roebuck & Co. reported sales up by 4.8% for the five weeks ending Jan. 3. No. 2 K mart Corp., which had reported relatively slow sales in the first three weeks of December, said a jump in buying just before Christmas gave the company an 8.7% increase in sales. Wal-Mart stores said it had a 36% increase in December.