Retail Sales Increase by 3.6 Percent During 2009 Holiday Season
Chief Retail Analyst for NPD Group Inc., Marshal Cohen, described 2009 holiday sales as ‘adequate’
Statistics compiled by SpendingPulse indicate that an estimated 3.6 percent increase in retail sales occurred between November 1st and Christmas Eve. Sales for electronics, jewelry and luxury items experienced the most significant increase as a result of slightly improved consumer confidence, according to BusinessWeek.com. The holiday retail sale increase in 2009 comes just one year after the worst holiday shopping season in approximately forty years occurred when sales were reduced by 2.3 percent.
Vice President for analysis and research at SpendingPulse, Michael McNamara, clarified that the most substantial retail sale momentum was generated during the three-day period leading up to Christmas. He also went on to describe that he would label the 2009 holiday shopping season as stable, particularly in comparison to the catastrophic 2008 holiday shopping season. The aforementioned sentiment was echoed by Marshal Cohen, the Chief Retail Analyst for NPD Group Inc., who labeled the 2009 holiday retail numbers as adequate.
It is important to note that the 2009 holiday shopping season included an additional day since there were 28 days between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays in comparison to 2008 when there were just 27 days. According to SpendingPulse’s statistics, the additional day contributed to approximately 2.6 percent of the increase in retail sales this year.