NEW YORK (AP) — A last-minute surge in spending seems to have saved the holiday shopping season for stores.

Major retailers including Costco, Gap and Nordstrom on Thursday reported better-than-expected revenue in December. That comes as a relief for stores that can make up to 40 percent of their annual revenue during the winter holiday shopping period that runs from November through the end of December.

Americans initially spent cautiously during the holiday season because of the damage after Superstorm Sandy. Then they were consumed by fears about the possibility of the U.S. economy falling off the "fiscal cliff," triggering massive budget cuts and tax increases that would mean much less money in their pockets. But they loosened their purse strings in the final shopping days of the year.