|
U.S.
retail sales, excluding automobiles and gas, had grown 5.5
percent in the period between Black Friday and Christmas Eve
last year.
Online sales grew 20 percent in the holiday season this year,
MasterCard Advisors, which tracks customer spending, said in a
report on Monday.
"The double-digit growth in furniture sales ... shows that
consumers are willing and able to splurge on big ticket items,"
Sarah Quinlan, senior vice president of Market Insights at
MasterCard Advisors, said in the report.
A delay in the onset of cold weather pushed back apparel buying
this fall, so there was pent up demand that played out after
Black Friday, she said.
Quinlan said consumers were spending the money they were saving
from lower gas prices.
The National Retail Federation, a leading industry group, has
forecast a 3.7 percent rise in store and online sales in
November and December this year, with online sales expected to
rise 6-8 percent.
(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti
Pandey)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
