U.S. holiday sales posted their strongest growth in nearly a decade, thanks to an improved economy and purchases spread over a longer season, rather than concentrated on a few key days, according to a leading research firm.
Consumer spending in November and December rose 4.6 percent over the same period the previous year, exceeding the 3.8 percent ShopperTrak had projected and marking the best performance since 2005, when sales grew 5.2 percent.
"Holiday seasons have been up each year since 2010 in small amounts, but what sets this one apart is it was enough to create profitability," said Jon B. Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, which expects to release state data next week. "Other holiday seasons' gains weren't large enough to offset increased costs."
The trend toward shopping earlier in the season continued last year, as November's sales growth outpaced December's. With a strong early push after Halloween and consistent deals throughout the month, November saw $120.2 billion in sales, a 5.4 percent increase over the same period in 2013, while December saw $149.9 billion, up 4 percent from the previous year, according to ShopperTrak.
With the exception of slight reversals in 2009 and 2011, when the calendar leaned more favorably toward December, the split between the two months continues to narrow — a 10-year trend that points to retailers' success in lengthening the shopping season, as well as consumers' increased willingness to shop early, the firm said.
"We saw improvement in the economy and labor market that really started to help the overall spending pace," said Michael P. Niemira, principal and chief economist at The Retail Economist. "Declining gas prices further helped discretionary spending."
Super Saturday, which falls on the weekend before Christmas, was the top sales day of the year, with an estimated $9.2 billion in sales, just edging out the $9.1 billion generated on Black Friday, according to ShopperTrak.
But the two days fell short of expectations, with Super Saturday sales gaining only .46 percent and Black Friday sales falling more than 7 percent, underscoring the declining importance of a single day or two in the season, the firm said.
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