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Retail Enjoying Impressive Season
Dec 17, 2017 6:45 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... US retail sales have increased so far this holiday season, as an improving job market has spurred consumer confidence, according to surveys by government and private-sector organizations.
Sales across all retail categories grew 6.3% year on year in November, the US
Census Bureau reported Thursday. Sales in retail and food services rose
5.8% to $492.7 billion for the month, with the federal agency also revising its
October result upward.
“This has been an impressive start to the holiday season,
perhaps the best in the last few years,” said Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist
at the National Retail Federation (NRF). “The combination of job and wage
gains, modest inflation and a healthy balance sheet, along with elevated consumer
confidence, has led to solid holiday spending by American households.”
The NRF maintained its forecast of a 3.6% to 4% sales
increase for the November-to-December holiday season, based on how trading went
during November, it said Thursday.
Similarly, Mastercard SpendingPulse reported a 3.6% rise in US
retail holiday sales for November 1 to December 9, the data provider noted Friday. E-commerce sales leapt 16%,
largely due to the increased popularity of shopping during Cyber Week, it said.
Promotions aimed at early-bird holiday shoppers paid off, especially in
electronics, home improvement and jewelry, the company explained.
“It’s easy to see that 2017 will likely be a good year for
retailers,” said Sarah Quinlan, Mastercard’s senior vice president of market
insights. “Unemployment is at 4.1%, wages are rising, consumers are
confident. It is all playing out in the shopping picture this holiday season,
as retailers and gift recipients would want it to.”
The government has not provided separate data for jewelry sales in November. Sales at specialist jewelers increased 5.8% to $24.89 billion in the first 10 months of the year, the latest government data showed.
Image: Alliance/Shutterstock
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Tags:
Cyber Week, e-commerce, holiday sales, holiday season, mastercard, MasterCard SpendingPulse, National Retail Federation, NRF, Rapaport News, retail, retail data, US Census Bureau, US data, US retail
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