Holiday Sales Strong in the End, But Soft Overall
Last-minute shoppers spent a hefty $8.7 billion on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to give retailers the kind of season-long sales they hoped Santa would bring.
Retail sales for the full shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas rose only 6.6% this year, according to MasterCard International’s research and consulting arm, MasterCard Advisors Unit. That’s shy of the 8.7% that sales rose last year, according to news reports quoting MasterCard’s research.
Retailers were relying on procrastinators to come out strong over the weekend.
Promotions helped drive a strong start to the season after Thanksgiving, but store traffic had been disappointing in the weeks following Black Friday. Observers cite a combination of reasons, from wily shoppers waiting for discounts and mild weather that kept Christmas spirit at bay, to the soft housing market that has kept retail sales anemic since summer.
But on Dec. 23, sales topped $8.7 billion, up a whopping 61.7% from the same date last year, according to retail research firm ShopperTrak RCT Corp. Sales for Friday and Saturday, Dec. 22-23, reached $16.28 billion, up 22.5% from the year before, per ShopperTrak.
That bookends the season nicely with the $8.96 billion that retailers took in on Black Friday.
“While it appears ‘Super Saturday’ finished second to Black Friday this year, the total dollars spent indicate a very strong close to the holiday shopping season as procrastinating shoppers proved they were willing to spend,” said ShopperTrak co-founder Bill Martin in a statement. “Retailers should be very pleased with this last-minute sales boost.”
Stores could see a lift this week as post-holiday discounts flourish, typically ranging from 50% to 80%. Retailers are opening early; Macy’s unlocked its doors yesterday at 7 a.m. (If it draws bargain-hunters before Christmas, why not after?) Discounts are likely to extend into January to woo gift-card recipients eager to redeem their cards. The National Retail Federation estimates gift-card sales of $24.81 billion this season, up from $18.48 billion last year.
