U.S. retail holiday sales up 3.6 percent: report

[ProSense]

U.S. retail holiday sales up 3.6 percent: report

By Phil Wahba

MONTREAL (Reuters) – U.S. retailers posted a better performance during the 2009 holiday shopping season, with sales as tracked by MasterCard Advisors unit SpendingPulse up 3.6 percent.

SpendingPulse figures exclude gasoline and automobile sales. They reflect activity that SpendingPulse tracks in the MasterCard payments networks as well as estimates for other payment forms such as cash and checks.

The increase was fueled by a 15.5 percent surge in online purchases as well as a modest recovery in areas such as luxury spending and women's apparel as tracked by SpendingPulse. In 2008, retailers posted a drop in sales, their worst holiday performance in decades, after a global financial markets crisis.

SpendingPulse has been tracking holiday spending figures since 2002, for the period from November 1 until Christmas Eve.

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[WeDidIt]

1. BUT THAT DOESN"T MEAN THE SKY ISN'T FALLING!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I thought I'd get in the histrionics before the naysayers get here.

[jefferson_dem]

2. Somehow...this is terrible news!

I'll let you know why once I concoct some phony "debbie downer" spin.

[WeDidIt]

4. But it's EXCELLENT news for McCain!

:evilgrin:

[tridim]

9. Jane Hamsher is talking to Grover about it.

I'm sure her new team will have the negative spin posted by noon. Maybe Rahm fudged the numbers?

[Cha]

25. Yeah for the fucking republicons..they tried to FUBAR it.

[geckosfeet]

3. Sales up relative to a completely disasterous 2008. Still below 2007.

Year over year since 2007 is flat at best.

Sales in 2008 were 20-50% below forecasts depending on which retail market you are in. Being up 3.6% relative to that is not exactly a stunning performance.

It is good to see relative growth though.

[Zynx]

12. It has to start somewhere.

[Top Cat]

21. Excuse me but this is a huge improvement considering the last 2 + years of Bush's BS...

[geckosfeet]

27. In the sense that is the direction we want sales to be moving.

In terms of the magnitude of the change, it is rather modest.

You are excused.

[goldcanyonaz]

5. Sales were fricken' amazing this year, just shows you how overpriced everything is.

Many retailers who have never offered sales had them this past year.

[Mudoria]

6. Pretty much every place I went was packed, sale or no sale

I'm guessing consumers are a little more confident now.

[goldcanyonaz]

8. Or, spending money they don't have. Some still fall victim to the lure of free money via credit.

We are strictly a cash and carry family now.

The only CC we have is an American Express which has to be paid off entirely each month.

We no longer use our debit cards either, too dangerous.

[Zynx]

11. Retail margins are actually quite thin.

Retailers have to mark-up items 20-30% to cover all of their other costs. Most retail net margins are closer to 5-7%.

[FreakinDJ]

7. THE HUMANITY THE HUMANTIY THE HUMANITY

Short Seller - Wiped Out by the Econmic Recovery will be jumping from the tall buildings on Wall St

THE HUMANITY........

[jpak]

10. The Obama Failure continues

:cry:

























:evilgrin:

[Clio the Leo]

13. And sales went up another 8,000% today...

... I am POOPED!!!

[AllentownJake]

14. .

:rofl:

[NJmaverick]

15. Why am I not shocked you are mocking good news?

it seems to be your MO

[ProSense]

16. Finally posted the reason in the right place.

He's been predicting poor sales.

[NJmaverick]

18. You mean he was wrong?

I am shocked! Shocked I tell you!

[AllentownJake]

22. Early reports these days

Tend to be revised down. It is like a soviet joke

[ProSense]

17. I knew you'd be along

(click me)

[AllentownJake]

23. The soviet game

Awesome intitial reports. Revised down to oblivion later. 3rd quarter GDP is sinking faster than enron stock.

[ProSense]

24. The problem with your predictions is that

they're nothing but spin. The economy is improving, and will continue to do so.

[AllentownJake]

26. Did Ben ever explain who bought the 500 billion of missing T-Bonds

:rofl:

[sendero]

19. I'll be alot more interested..

.... in the sales tax revenues collected, as they are an accurate measure of sales. All of these other stats are noise.

[brentspeak]

20. After all is said and done, there is only one criteria for economic good news:

A dramatic increase in the number of people employed in full-time, permanent well-paying jobs, and the a resulting revitalization of cities and states to go along with those jobs. Holiday sale retail statistics are chintzy pieces of economic information that only say something about a dying and completely aimless consumer economy.