The U.S. retail sector enjoyed a robust holiday season as consumers spent more money creating the best holiday sales increase since 2005.
ShopperTrak reports holiday spending during November and December rose 4.6% from a year ago. This exceeded the 3.8% estimate the research firm made prior to the holiday. It was also the best performance since the sector returned a 5.2% increase in 2005.
Some analysts had warned margins would be thinner because of the extended sales season with Black Friday deals being dialed up a full week early and Thanksgiving Day sales also eclipsing some of the Black Friday deals. That could still bear out as retailers report net profits in the next month or so.
Atlanta-based First Data notes that retail sales rose 3.2% from Nov. 1 to Jan. 4, which compared to a meager 0.5% lift in the year-old period.
“The outcome punctuates the declining importance of a single day within the season,” Chicago-based ShopperTrak said in the report. “This 10-year trend speaks to retailers’ success in elongating the shopping season, as well as the consumers’ increased willingness to shop early.”
Black Friday sales were trumped again this year as the biggest shopping day in 2014 was the Saturday before Christmas, deemed Super Saturday.
First Data reports Black Friday sales rose 2.2%, up from the 1.3% dip reported in 2013. December sales increased 2.9%, which was higher than 1% gain in 2013.