NEW YORK, Jan 13 - Retailers made way for their spring goods, marking down some prices, as U.S. chain store sales registered slight gains in the latest week, Redbook said in a report on Tuesday. The pace of sales at major retailers grew by 3.8 percent on a year-over-year basis for the week ended Jan. 10, up a bit from 3.4 percent the preceding week, the report said. Sales so far in January were up 0.3 percent when compared with December. "Clearance will be the key theme in January, with most retailers planning to bring in new spring merchandise from about the middle of the month, although promotional clearances and price discounting were not as heavy as last year," the report said. Arctic-like temperatures in the Northeast and Midwest spurred sales of cold-weather gear and outerwear, Redbook said. The Redbook data are compiled from a sample of same-store sales at general merchandise retailers representing about 9,000 stores. Same-store sales measure revenue at stores open at least one year.||