November's early promotions proved too tempting for consumers, who came out in droves to spend well before December 25th, and even before the celebrated Black Friday. Free shipping and bad weather (and perhaps the realization of how much money was already spent?!) seemed to keep consumers' wallets tucked away in December. Although unemployment remained high and consumers may not return to "normal" spending soon, the fact that sales were positive - particularly in the luxury sector - is a positive sign for the new year.
Overall holiday sales - the best in four years
- Same store sales for November-December 2010 showed a 5.7% increase
- the best holiday season since 2004 which saw a 5.9% increase
- The two month 2010 sales increase is higher than the 3.6% increase for the same period in 2009
November Reigns
- November 2010 same store sales saw a gain of 5.6%
- vs. a 0.3% drop in November 2009
- December 2010 same store sales saw a gain of 3.1%
- vs. a 3.0% gain in December 2009
Bright spots in luxury
- There were significant gains in December jewelry and luxury sales this year compared to 2009
- December jewelry sales rose 10.4%
- vs. a 5.6% gain from December 2009
- Luxury sales outside of jewelry rose 8.5%
- vs. a 5.5% gain from December 2009
Online sales see a surge
- Americans spent 13% more online this holiday season ($30.81 billion) than last year ($27.37 billion)
- 2009 saw only a 5% spending increase from 2008
- This year served as an all-time record for online spending for the holiday season
- Free shopping was used in more than half of all e-commerce transactions this season
M-commerce, the new kid on the block
- According to a January 2011 ForeSee Results study of 10,000 consumers:
- 11% of shoppers made a purchase from their phones this holiday season vs. 2% during the 2009 holidays
- 7% of shoppers used retail mobile apps this holiday season compared with 1% during the 2009 holidays
Sources:
Strong December Gains Help Retailers Beat Holiday Sales Projections, According to NRF, nrf.com, 1/14/11
33% of webshoppers engage in m-commerce, and 11% buy, ForeSee Results finds, internetretailer.com, 1/10/11
December retail store sales solid but below expectations after November surge, washingtonpost.com, 1/6/11
December Same-Store Sales Soften, Kantar Retail Reports, kantarretail.com, 1/6/11
Holiday store sales chilled, money.cnn.com, 1/6/11
December Retail Sales are Weaker Than Expected, nytimes.com, 1/6/11
U.S. Online Holiday Shopping Season Reaches Record $32.6 Billion for November-December Period, Up 12 Percent vs. Year Ago, comscore.com, 1/5/11
US retail sectors saw growth in Dec-SpendingPulse, reuters.com, 1/6/10
Online Holiday sales rise 13 percent in 2010, msnbc.com, 12/30/10
