Holiday retail sales are reportedly up 5.5 percent overall season-over-season (Nov. 5 to Dec. 24), according to preliminary data from MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse tracking service, excluding auto.
Key categories posted the following sales results:
Ecommerce at a 15.4 percent increase
Apparel at a 11.2 percent increase (men’s: 10.5 percent increase, women’s: 5.6 percent)
Electronics at a 1.2 percent increase
Jewelry and luxury at 8.4 percent increase
“If last year’s holiday story was about gaining some stability, this year’s is about getting back to growth,” says Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis for SpendingPulse. “The 2010 holiday period is categorized by strong year-over-year growth in apparel and continued strength in ecommerce. We also saw a noticeable return in spending in the larger ticket items, as exemplified by the solid growth in jewelry, luxury and event the furniture category.”