U.S. holiday shoppers rush for last-minute Christmas purchases

U.S. holiday shoppers rush for last-minute Christmas purchases

Retail sales this month have blown past last year's pace as U.S. holiday shoppers rush to finish all their purchases as Christmas nears, according to ShopperTrak who released the revenue report on Wednesday. Last year, revenue was down overall since a snowstorm whipped through the East Coast, closing stores and malls during the peak holiday shopping season.  This year's last full weekend before Christmas, December 17-19, saw shoppers spend some $18.83 billion, including $7.58 billion for the Saturday prior to Christmas dubbed "Super Saturday." Retail spending dropped 0.4 percent during last year's holiday season, but ShopperTrak says spending by U.S. holiday shoppers will top the benchmark 4 percent this year. The U.S. retail industry eagerly anticipates the holiday season, as many stores earn up to a third of the earnings for the whole year during this time. The ten days before Christmas are especially busy, accounting for 31 to 34 percent of holiday shopping revenue, ShopperTrak says.

Sales from last-minute shopping this Thursday will likely exceed sales during "Super Saturday" and only behind "Black Friday" according to ShopperTrak.  Data provided by MasterCard Advisors' Spending Pulse revealed that U.S. shoppers are buying more clothes, furniture and luxury items from October 31 until Saturday. Online stores are also enjoying brisk sales of $27.46 billion since November 1, jumping 12 percent from last year's total, research company comScore says. According to the Commerce Department, retail sales last month climbed 0.8 percent, the fifth straight month of increase. The strong spending by U.S. holiday shoppers is expected to further drive up retail sales this month.

Posted by Melanie Mendoza on Thursday December 23 2010, 1:30 AM EST. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Shopping. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0