Despite the gloomy economic news, retail sales for the week ended Saturday rose 1% over the same week last year, according to an estimate from ShopperTrak RCT.

But although gas prices have fallen, consumers may be waiting for last-minute Halloween markdowns. “We anticipate that there will be some retail activity leading up into Halloween,” said Dan Natale, ShopperTrak senior vice president. “More and more folks are holding out. They’re looking for the markdowns.”

Sales so far this month continue to lag last year’s results — they’re 0.6% lower through Saturday, ShopperTrak estimates.

Consumers may also not be shopping due to the upcoming election. “We’ve got an election in less than seven days. We have seen that there is a slowdown in retail traffic overall as we work into the weeks leading up to the election and the week of the election,” Mr. Natale said.

“Is it all gloom and doom?” Mr. Natale said. “It’s not a particularly bright outlook but we are seeing a little encouragement by the 1% increase.”