Holiday Retail Sales Rose by 3.8%.
According to MasterCard, retail sales excluding automotive increased 3.8% year-over-year from November 1 through December 24. Adjusting for inflation, that is real increase in sales was 1.1%. And almost all the increase in retail sales was due to the 6.7% increase in online sales. Sales at brick-and-mortar stores only increased by 2.9%, adjusted for inflation, meaning only a 0.2% increase in real sales. Foot traffic in stores has been below last year every month this year. And the National Retail Federation estimates that 17% of all purchases will be returned.
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(Original air-date: 12/27/24)