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NRF Reports Some Holiday Cheer
Jan 16, 2017 9:30 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Holiday retail sales rose 4 percent driven by an
accelerated economic recovery even as certain large chain stores reported lower
traffic, according to separate reports from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and
MasterCard.
The NRF said total U.S. sales increased to $658.3 billion in
November and December, exceeding its forecasts, with online and non-store sales
growing 13 percent to $122.9 billion. December sales were 3.2 percent stronger versus
December 2015 on an unadjusted basis.
“Retail mirrors the economy. And while there might have been
some bumps in the road for individual companies, the retail industry overall
had a solid holiday season and retailers will work to sustain this in the year
ahead,” said NRF chief executive officer Matthew Shay. “These numbers show that
the nation’s slow-but-steady economic recovery is picking up speed and that
consumers feel good about the future.”
Average hourly earnings increased in 2016 from the previous
year, the job market was strong, home values increased and the rising stock
market has increased the value of consumers’ investments, the NRF added.
The positive figures contrast with a decline in sales
reported by J.C. Penney, Kohl’s and Macy’s, the latter of which announced it
will be closing 62 stores. Signet Jewelers also reported holiday sales slumped
5.1 percent and estimated the overall
jewelry sector was flat or modestly lower during the season.
The NRF acknowledged this diversity of performances, saying
sales at clothing and accessories stores climbed 2.5 percent, outweighing a 7
percent slide in department-store sales.
MasterCard also estimated total sales increase at 4 percent
during a slightly shorter period over November 1 to December 24. Online sales
jumped 19 percent but physical stores are still attracting customers, just in a
different way from how they have done in the past, Sarah Quinlan, senior
vice-president of MasterCard Advisors, explained in an interview with Fox
Business Network.
“We still like the store, but because we have prepared and
had a longer period of time to shop and are going online to curate what we want
to buy, we actually go into the store less frequently,” Quinlan said.
“Post-recession we shop at about half the number stores we
used to shop at, so we’re much more loyal. That’s why some of the bricks and
mortars could be announcing that they are a little bit down in traffic.”
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Tags:
holiday sales, holiday season, holidays, J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, Macy’s, mastercard, MasterCard Advisors, Matthew Shay, National Retail Federation, NRF, Rapaport News, retail, retailnext, Sarah Quinlan, Signet Jewelers
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