U.S. holiday shopping stages strong rebound this year

U.S. holiday shopping stages strong rebound this year

American shoppers returned to their usual spending ways during the holidays this year, abandoning their thrifty shopping behavior during the last two years amid the economic crisis. More people bought items for themselves, their families and friends this year more than they did last year. Luxury items, which were scratched off many shopping lists last year, have been some of the hottest products this holiday shopping season. Most data reveal that it has been a strong season for retailers in 2010. This has been punctuated by the surge in Christmas shopping to end the year. According to the National Retail Federation, up to $451.5 billion in sales, up 3.3 percent from last year, will be reached by U.S. stores this holiday season. The hike would be the largest jump since 2006 and the biggest total since the industry posted $452.8 billion in 2007. There is still a week left on the calendar and strong sales during this time may push the total to a record-high. The week ending through December 24 has not been counted in official figures yet. And spending during the year's final week will only be known next month. The increased willingness to spend is a good sign for the struggling economy. But even with a rise in consumer confidence, other economic data are still down. Joblessness is at a high 9.8 percent and the housing market has hit rock-bottom. But some government figures are more optimistic. There are fewer firings and companies are looking to expand their business according to the Labor Department.

Posted by Melanie Mendoza on Sunday December 26 2010, 1:46 AM EDT. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Shopping. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0