U.S. retailers saw 4.5 percent rise on the year in week before Christmas
American retailers posted a 4.5-percent rise on the year in sales in the week before Christmas as shoppers hit the stores to complete their holiday purchases.
December 29, 2011
American retailers posted a 4.5-percent rise on the year in sales in the week before Christmas as shoppers hit the stores to complete their holiday purchases.
Sales were also 0.9 percent higher than in the previous week, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs.
''As expected, holiday shopping went down to the wire as consumers took advantage of the full shopping week ahead of Christmas Day, which fell on a Sunday this year,'' said Michael Niemira, ICSC's vice president of research and chief economist.
''Overall this holiday season appears to have been a positive one for retailers, though there were some pockets of weakness. Looking ahead, the ICSC-Goldman Sachs consumer tracking survey suggests that consumer gift-card expenditures were higher than in recent years, which suggests gift-card redemption in the coming weeks could be stronger than in recent years too.''
ICSC forecasts sales at chain-store in December will have risen on the year by 3.5 percent to 4 percent.
