Warm Weather & Less Emphasis on Black Friday Helped December Retail

Warmer temperatures and less emphasis on Black Friday helped retailers gain steam in December. 'Traffic has been really strong,' said Morningstar analyst Paul Swinand in an interview with TheStreet's Scott Gamm. 'The weather has been just cold enough to get people inspired, but not cold enough to keep people away from the stores.' He says some of the snowy weather in November pushed people to shop in December. Swinand also talks about some of his favorite stocks in the retail sector, including Nike (NKE), which has strong financial metrics and Adidas (ADS), which he thinks will see improvements in U.S. market share during 2015.