U.S. retail sales climbed 4.5 percent last week compared to the same period last year as consumers bought last-minute Christmas gifts and exploited chains operating for longer hours. U.S. retail sales climbed 4.5 percent last week compared to the same period last year as consumers bought last-minute Christmas gifts and exploited chains operating for longer hours.
Sales for the week ending Dec. 24 rose 0.9 percent from the week before, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs. The National Retail Federation predicts that retail sales will rise 3.8 percent this holiday season, after gaining 5.2 percent last year. Christmas Eve falling on a Saturday worked to the advantage of merchants, with chains extending hours to draw shoppers in search of bargains and deals.
"The holiday was better than expected," says NPD Group analyst Marshal Cohen. "Consumers who were tired of living in this spending cocoon went out and bought what they needed and wanted." Extended store hours broke records this holiday season, with nearly all 600 Toys R Us U.S. outlets staying open for 112 hours straight from Dec. 20 to Christmas Eve. Discounts on Black Friday drew consumers on the Thanksgiving weekend and triggered a "solid, not gangbusters, holiday season," according to consultant Madison Riley. "The final week was very strong, helped by that extra Saturday before Christmas," Riley points out.
