• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, April 7, 2011

What with rising gas prices and a late Easter holiday, shoppers had plenty of reasons to stay home in March, but while retail sales fell from the previous month, they still came in higher than expected.

Kantar Retail says March sales rose 2.5%, compared to 4.4% in the prior month, and 9.2% in the March a year ago. The International Council of Shopping Centers , which tracks a slightly different group of stores, says its index registered a 2% gain, on the high side of its expectations. "This gain, in the face of somewhat adverse factors, was encouraging and reflected a solid underlying trend in consumer demand," says Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for ICSC, in its release.

Warehouse clubs were among the biggest winners, with sales rising 11% at Costco, and 5.3% at BJ's Wholesale Club. Those results, however, included ever-pricier gasoline sales. Without fuel, Costco's sales rose 7%, and BJ's 1.3%.

Higher end department stores also had a good month: Sales at Saks jumped 11.1%, 8.8% at Neiman Marcus and 5.1% at Nordstrom.