US Retail Sales Up 2.4 Pct From November To Dec. 24

Holiday sales rose this year compared to last but failed to meet many analysts’ expectations and were especially disappointing for brick-and-mortar operators, according to a variety of data sources.

Mastercard SpendingPulse, whose data reflects electronic, cash and check purchases, reported sales for goods other than gasoline and automobiles were up 2.4 percent from Nov. 1 – 24, which the data provider described as the traditional holiday shopping period.

But Mastercard SpendingPulse senior advisor and former Saks Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Steve Sadove cautioned in a prepared statement this year is very different, and cited Mastercard SpendingPulse sales data for a longer period beginning Oct. 11 and ending Dec. 24.

“Consumers shopped earlier than ever before,” he said. “Across our expanded 75-day holiday shopping season, sales were up 3.0%, a testament to the holiday season and strength of retailers and consumers alike.”

The National Retail Federation had forecast an increase for the season, year over year, of between 3.6 percent and 5.2 percent, though cautioned when releasing it that the 2020 shopping season would be unusual in many ways.

The Mastercard SpendingPulse data showed eCommerce spending for the traditional shopping period was up 47.2 percent year-over-year. For the 75-day shopping period, eCommerce sales were up 49.0 percent.

Rod Sides, who leads the retail and distribution practice at Deloitte LLP,  told the Wall Street Journal: “It’s going to be modest compared to what we have seen in the past,” and retailers who were struggling “continued to play catch up.”

Data from Adobe Analytics cited by the Journal and covering the period Nov. 1 – Dec. 22 had online sales reaching $171.6 billion — an increase of 32.4 percent compared with the same period last year.

And Sensormatic Solutions, which measures foot traffic, concluded 31.3 percent fewer people visited U.S. retail locations this year compared to last, the Journal reported.

Sonia Lapinsky, a managing director in the retail practice at AlixPartners, told the Journal the companies doing the best in online sales tend to be those that built eCommerce businesses “years ago.”