US sees strongest holiday shopping season since 2011

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US holiday sales increased by 4.9 percent, the biggest year-end gains since 2011, according to preliminary data released by Mastercard SpendingPulse on Tuesday.

Shoppers in the world's biggest economy spent generously over the "Black Friday" weekend in late November that kicks off the US holiday shopping season, and buying picked up further in December, analysts said.

"Overall, this year was a big win for retail," said Sarah Quinlan, senior vice president of market insights at Mastercard.

Sales of electronics and appliances increased by 7.5 percent during the holiday season from a year earlier, the best performance in a decade.

Clothing stores and department stores saw "modest gains," although hundreds of brick-and-mortar stores have been closed this year.

"The strong US economy was a contributing factor, but we also have to recognize that retailers who tried new strategies to engage holiday shoppers were the beneficiaries of this sales increase," Quinlan said.

Market analysts IHS Markit pointed to strong macroeconomic factors such as a 17-year high in US consumer confidence in November and a 17-year low in unemployment that allowed consumers to open their wallets.

Chilly weather in much of the country also supported sales of jackets and other winter apparel, said Chris Christopher, executive director at IHS Markit.

"There was a significant ramp-up of holiday sales," said Christopher, who shifted his projection midway through December to 4.7 percent growth for the season from an earlier mark of 4.2 percent growth.

"Everything is pointing to a good holiday season," he noted.

The passage of a massive tax cut bill by Republicans in Congress and pushed by President Donald Trump also likely lifted spending somewhat, although Christopher noted that "things were going strong before that."

The upbeat appraisals boosted shares of leading retailers, a sector that has seen myriad bankruptcies and store closures with the growth of Amazon and other online retailers, at the expense of the traditional American shopping mall.

Most brick-and-mortar chains saw their share prices rise in afternoon trading Monday, including Wal-Mart Stores, up 0.9 percent, Macy's, up 4.7 percent, Gap, up 1.6 percent and Best Buy, up 1.2 percent.

Amazon announced Tuesday that it sold more than one billion items from small businesses and entrepreneurs worldwide during the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas and gained 0.6 percent after announcing a number of records of its own, pointing to strong increases of "Prime" subscribers and of sales of its artificial intelligence "Echo" devices.

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency