Holiday retail spending up 2.7%, research firm estimates

By Rick Romell of the Journal Sentinel
Jan. 8, 2014


U.S. shoppers opened their wallets a little wider this past holiday season, spending 2.7% more in brick-and-mortar stores than they did in 2012, retail research firm ShopperTrak estimates.

The increase was slightly better than ShopperTrak's earlier forecast of a 2.4% gain, and marked the fourth consecutive year of rising holiday sales - a good sign in an economy driven largely by consumer spending.

And the 2.7% increase understates overall retail holiday spending because it doesn't include online sales, which continue to grow more rapidly than those at traditional stores.

Amid the nationwide increase are striking regional differences. Sales in the Midwest were flat compared with 2012, while those in the West rose 5.1%. Sales in the South and Northeast rose 3.2% and 1.9%, respectively.

Overall, consumers spent $265.9 billion during the critical November-December shopping period, ShopperTrak estimates. The Chicago-based firm tallies traffic at tens of thousands of stores across the country.


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