Jan 12, 2012

National Retail Federation Says Holiday Sales up 4.1 Percent, But Discounting Clouds ResultsBy Anne D'InocenzioStarTribune.com

New York, NY – A major retail trade organization is announcing that holiday sales rose 4.1 percent, better than its forecast for a 3.8 percent gain. But the season was clouded by heavy discounting needed to get shoppers to spend, particularly in the final weeks before Christmas.

The National Retail Federation said Thursday that retail sales for November and December combined totaled $471.5 billion. December sales rose 4.1 percent compared with a year ago, but declined 0.06 percent from November.

“In a matchup between the final two months of 2011, November clearly wins, but the in the end, retailers’ promotions struck the right chord for budget-focused holiday shoppers,” Jack Kleinhenz, the organization’s chief economist, said in a statement. “Though we are seeing evidence that the economy still has a critical hold on consumers’ purchases decisions, this strength in spending could continue in 2012.”

Read complete article »