US retailers’ holiday sales this year jumped 5.5 percent, the best performance in five years, as shoppers snapped up clothing and jewelry at Macy’s Inc, Tiffany & Co and other stores.
Retail sales, excluding automobiles, rose to US$584 billion from Nov. 5 through Friday, said MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse, which measures retail sales by all payment forms. That compared with a 4.1 percent gain a year earlier. The numbers include sales made over the Internet.
Consumers bought coats at chains such as Bloomingdale’s as their confidence improved. Their spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the US economy, is a positive sign heading into next year, SpendingPulse vice president Michael McNamara said.
“Increasing confidence has freed up more money from savings,” McNamara said. “We are seeing this momentum building and being sustained.”
A Northeast storm that dumped more than 30cm of snow in areas from North Carolina to Massachusetts on Sunday and Monday, probably did little more than hamper store visits and won’t dent the overall season’s sales, McNamara predicted.
Apparel sales grew the fastest in the 50 days before Christmas, with an 11 percent gain, more than 10 times the pace of last year. Sales of jewelry accelerated 7.2 percent, more than twice as fast as last year, McNamara said.
Luxury sales rose 6.7 percent, compared with 0.9 percent a year ago. Consumer electronics sales increased 1.2 percent after falling 4.6 percent a year earlier. Furniture climbed 3.8 percent after a 2.2 percent drop last year.
Tiffany, the world’s second-largest luxury jewelry retailer, forecast a 10 percent increase in sales this year after an 11 percent decline in the previous 12 months. Macy’s, the second--largest US department store chain, on Dec. 2 boosted its fourth-quarter forecast for sales at stores open at least a year to as much as 4.5 percent from a previous maximum of 4 percent.
Buying increased after US consumer confidence climbed this month to the highest level in six months. Initial US jobless claims fell in the week ended Dec. 18 and the number of people on unemployment benefit dropped to a two-year low, evidence the US labor market is improving.
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