NPD Reports Holiday Sales Growth

Dollar sales in the eighth week of the 2016 holiday shopping season were 16 percent higher than the same week in 2015, according to The NPD Group’s weekly point-of-sales results.

April 6, 2018

Toys, apparel, technology and other categories all saw growth in the lead-up to Christmas and Hanukkah.

In addition, the eighth week outperformed the historically peak week of Thanksgiving; however, dollar sales in the first eight weeks of the 2016 season were still 1 percent behind the first eight weeks of the 2015 season.

Top-performing categories for the week include men’s apparel, women’s apparel, total PC’s, dolls and infant/toddler/preschool toys. Compared to 2015, toy sales increased by 26 percent, apparel by 17 percent, prestige fragrance by 16 percent, technology by 11 percent and athletic footwear by 8 percent.

“The eighth week of the 2016 holiday season included two more shopping days before Christmas than in 2015, delayed Hanukkah shopping that occurred at the beginning of December last year and a shipping deadline crunch that brought more action into stores for online pick-ups and last-minute impulse buys–it

was a perfect storm of holiday shopping behavior. Toys and apparel were the clear winners of the week with double-digit growth that more than made up for what was lost in prior weeks,” says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst, The NPD Group. “The final week of the 2016 season will take on new meaning with continued Hanukkah shopping, post-Christmas celebrations and consumers beginning to cash in those gift cards that played such a big role this holiday.”