Holiday retail spending up 8.7 pct: report

I wonder how many of these people won't be able to pay for all the stuff they bought. When they find out Bush and his minions in Congress took away bankruptcy they'll wonder why nobody ever told them.

now that Christmas is over

I wonder how much of the spending is storm related, especially the furnature/appliance number.

I know I didn't see an increase in sales; the stores weren't crowded. I couldn't figure out why there was this increase in light of what I saw. I think your explanation is probably it. The increase in home furnishings was to replace all that was lost in the storms.

By region, sales in the Southeast, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia, grew 11%, according to SpendingPulse, while Pacific states like California, Oregon and Washington, experienced a 9.6% increase. The smallest gain, 5.3%, belonged to the Great Plains area including Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota and North Dakota. Sales in the Northeast grew just 6.9%; 8.1% in the mid-Atlantic and 8.4% in North Central states including Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois.

from the WSJ

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113564495859931796.html

....about actual dollars spent, or are they talking about numbers of units sold?

I think we all know that the retail outlets were totally sales-happy this year, which should translate into more units sold, but at a lower total revenue.

An increase in sales is certainly not something we participated in and the local shops and mall were much quieter then usual during the holidays... eerily so actually.

If there is a real increase I'd like to know who is spending enough to take up the slack we've seen not to mention where are they getting the funds? If it's because they're maxing out the credit cards that's rather scary given the unstable economy, job (in)security and new bankruptcy laws. As someone already mentioned, I suppose it could also be due to folks replacing all of the things they lost in the hurricanes.... hopefully using insurance payoffs and not their credit cards.

Hopefully this nasty head cold has me more fogged in then I think and I'm wrong.

retail sales are reported in revenue, not units.

for 1 second.Christmas eve day the stores were dead.No F#$#ing way.

Everything else I have heard and read indicates that this is not true.

it's a puff number - they can't have all the details in yet so I presume they estimated and were optimistic. cold reality will arrive sometime in january.

Post #42:

4:20 pm : The major averages opened higher amid upbeat holiday spending data and falling oil prices, but continued deterioration in the latter eventually compelled a limited number of investors to consolidate gains across the board, as the indices closed at session lows and all ten economic sectors lost ground. As is typically the case for the week wedged between Christmas and New Year's, total volumes were below average, providing less conviction behind today's broad-based move into negative territory which resulted in the Dow posting its largest one-day loss since late October.

While many initially thought a MasterCard SpendingPulse report that showed holiday spending rose 8.7% might help ignite a traditional year-end rally, skepticism behind the report -- one based on data excluded in more widely-following consumption reports and perhaps garnering added attention in the absence of notable earnings and economic data -- eventually overshadowed its potential importance.

EDIT

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2007803#2008577

good find I feel much better now.

it was one of the reasons why the market tanked today. From a wrapup at Yahoo finance:

While many initially thought a MasterCard SpendingPulse report that showed holiday spending rose 8.7% might help ignite a traditional year-end rally, skepticism behind the report -- one based on data excluded in more widely-following consumption reports and perhaps garnering added attention in the absence of notable earnings and economic data -- eventually overshadowed its potential importance.

God Ble$$ America.

:eyes:

There was a lot of heavy discounting this year.

Companies don't survive in making sales, they survive in making a profit.

Very little profits in $400 Laptops and $300 PCs......But they up the $$$ amounts.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113564495859931796.html...

The SpendingPulse data covers the period from Friday, Nov. 25, through Saturday, Dec. 24, a 30-day shopping season this year compared with only 29 days in 2004. The projection is based on data and analysis that includes purchases made via credit and debit cards, cash and checks. It includes sales at stores and on the Internet, sales of gift cards and sales of food in stores and restaurants. It doesn't include auto or gasoline sales.

The strongest category gains came in home furnishings, including linens and picture frames, with sales up 15%, according to the SpendingPulse data. Sales of consumer electronics grew 11%, fueled in part by prices for flat-screen TVs and digital cameras that were lower than last year. Sales of sporting goods, books, music and video advanced 6.4%, while apparel rose 5.8%, despite the lack of must-have items this year. Women's apparel did a little better, with an 8.2% gain. Furniture sales rose 5.3%. Sales of jewelry slid 4.6%, perhaps as shoppers funneled their big-ticket spending into electronics.

Online spending continued to explode this year, as retailers offered Web-only discounts and shipped gifts later than ever. Holiday retail sales on the Internet are expected to top predictions of $19.6 billion in sales this year, a figure that is 24% ahead of the $15.8 billion consumers spent online last holiday season, according to comScore Networks Inc., a Reston, Va., market-research firm.

And, $4 billion over a 30-day period isn't really a lot of money. That's about $13.75/person in the US

it's how much did you make. Your profit is what counts.

"...according to a report from an affiliate of MasterCard International..."

On edit - I see they claim to be including cash, but how would they know about that, other than cash advances made on credit cards?

I always dread the week before Christmas because that's when the wife wants to get out and hit the stores with reckless abandon. Since she doesn't drive, I must always brace myself for the onslaught of traffic and hordes of foul-tempered shoppers. This year was an exception. The crowds never materialized, shopping was a breeze, and traffic was light, right up to Christmas Eve. In fact, I'd say this was the lightest Christmas shopping season I've ever seen, so somehow that report just doesn't wash.

i saw everything from newborn babies to the very old! the lines were 10 long at places like sears, penney's and marshall's and many were carrying bags.

i'm in socal.