Retail spending over the holiday season surged to the highest in six years as the GOP-led tax cuts and a strong U.S. economy buoyed consumer sentiment.
Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, retail spending grew 5.1 percent to $850 billion, according to a Mastercard SpendingPulse report released on Wednesday. Apparel sales climbed 7.9 percent, and home improvement spending grew 9 percent.
“From shopping aisles to online carts, consumer confidence translated into holiday cheer for retail,” Steve Sadove, senior adviser for Mastercard, said in a statement. “By combining the right inventory with the right mix of online versus in-store, many retailers were able to give consumers what they wanted via the right shopping channels.”
Experts were anticipating a strong holiday shopping season, as the retail industry at-large performs well.
Still, department stores struggled during the holiday season, Mastercard said, with sales dropping 1.3 percent. And the latest data arrives against the backdrop of a swooning stock market that has stoked fears that the U.S. economy could lose momentum in 2019.
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Retailers on the rebound with the 2018 holiday shopping season looking like the best in six years https://t.co/nYNhjTzRgH
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 27, 2018
I suppose this is why investors were buying up retail stocks yesterday and today — which in turn helped make the Dow go up. — at least for now.
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