The early evidence suggests that the holiday shopping season was better than what analysts were expecting:
U.S. retail sales rose an estimated 3.6 percent this holiday season as online gift-buying, last- minute spending and an extra shopping day spurred a recovery from last year, the worst in four decades.
A jump in purchases the week before Christmas helped year- over-year electronics sales increase 5.9 percent from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24, MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse said in a statement. Jewelry and luxury sales also gained, the research firm said.
The increase may signal that revenue at retailers will beat trade groups’ forecasts for the two-month period ending Jan. 2. Shoppers resumed purchasing this season as consumer confidence rebounded from a record low in February.
This is very good news. Some of my favorite retailers include Priceline.com (PCLN), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Autozone (AZO).