usnews.com - Retail holiday sales in America had their largest increase this year since 2011 — jumping 4.9 percent compared to the same time (Nov. 1 to Dec. 24) last year, according to a report from Mastercard SpendingPulse.
Online shopping, which increased 18.1 percent from last year, was a big reason for the bump. Despite the store closings throughout the year, the ease of online and last-minute shopping and the availability of fast-shipping options helped retail sales.
"Overall, this year was a big win for retail," said Sarah Quinlan, senior vice president of market insights at Mastercard. "The strong U.S. economy was a contributing factor, but we also have to recognize that retailers who tried new strategies to engage holiday shoppers were the beneficiaries of this sales increase."
Early promotions from retailers encouraged consumers to buy. The first three weeks of November saw significant jumps in sales, according to the report. Additionally, Black Friday and Super Saturday — the Saturday before Christmas — were the two biggest days of single-day spending for retail sales.
Although overall spending grew 4.9 percent, sales in different categories differed. Sales in electronics and appliances increased 7.5 percent, the strongest growth in the last 10 years. Home furniture and furnishings, as well as home improvement saw increases of 5.1 percent. Jewelry sales increased by 5.9 percent, mostly by last-minute shoppers, the report found.
Department and speciality apparel stores traditionally see most of their sales happen in-store as opposed to online, and despite their many closings, their sales saw moderate gains.
The SpendingPulse report is based on aggregate sales activity in the Mastercard payments network, along with survey based-estimates for other forms of payment, such as cash and checks, according to Mastercard. The data exclude auto sales. (ontinueReading
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