RAPAPORT...  Retail sales from December 1 to December 6 declined 15 to 25 percent after the usual Black Friday spending surge, according to a survey by SpendingPulse. The firm also reported that the luxury sales category, which measures high-ticket items across all categories, fell 27.8 percent from November 2 to December 6, compared with the same period in 2007.

Online retail sales sank just 4.8 percent from November 2 through December 6, compared with one year ago. The survey’s authors noted that etailers got a particularly big boost in the week following Thanksgiving, when online spending rose 10.4 percent. Michael McNamara, vice president of SpendingPulse, said, “While some of this was due to the calendar shift, it is still a noteworthy increase.”

McNamara said the luxury product category would be monitored carefully in the next two weeks, as historically this category has gotten pumping during the 10 days leading to Christmas. Sales of apparel were up 19.5 percent for the period, and electronics sales sank 25 percent between November 2 and December 6.

SpendingPulse is an information service provided by MasterCard Advisors. It based its sales numbers on all forms of payment; the group does not represent MasterCard financial performance.

In a separate survey by comScore, online sales from November 1 through December 12 were flat at $19.438 billion. In the first week of December, according to comScore, sales declined by 22 percent compared with 2007.

NC