Total holiday retail sales, which include November and December sales, increased 4 percent to $616.1 billion, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The results were just shy of the National Retail Federation's projected forecast of 4.1 percent growth. Non-store holiday sales, which is an indicator of online and e-commerce sales, grew 6.8 percent to $101.9 billion.
December retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, decreased 0.9 percent seasonally adjusted month-to-month, and increased 4.6 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday that December retail sales decreased 0.9 percent seasonally adjusted month-to-month and increased 3.2 percent unadjusted year-over-year. The significant drop in gasoline prices in the month of December brought down much of the month-to-month growth.
“Today’s holiday retail sales results are welcome news for our industry and for our economy. There is every reason to believe that we have moved well beyond the days of consumer pessimism and that the trajectory for retailers continues to point up,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “We are fortunate to represent a resilient industry with business leaders who are committed to providing the best value to their customers. A successful holiday for retail sales is extremely important, but the work to build upon and grow that success never ends.”
“Preliminary holiday results affirm our initial belief that consumers going into the holiday season had the spending power necessary to give retail the shot in the arm it needed," NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz. "While December’s figures are disappointing, holiday sales in 2014 are the best we've seen since 2011. We remain positive about the future and expect to see consumers continue to benefit from the extra income gained from an improved job market and the dramatic fall in gas prices. It is important to recognize that December is a very difficult month to adjust for seasonal forces because of holiday spending and this could explain in part this month’s volatility."
Additional findings from NRF’s analysis found that:
Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers:
-1.9 percent month-to-month+7.3 percent year-over-yearClothing and clothing accessories stores:
-0.3 percent month-to-month+4.4 percent year-over-yearElectronics and appliance stores:
-1.6 percent month-to-month+7.0 percent year-over-yearFurniture and home furnishing stores:
+0.8 percent month-to-month+8.1 percent year-over-yearGeneral merchandise stores:
-0.9 percent month-to-month+0.9 percent year-over-yearHealth and personal care stores:
+0.5 percent month-to-month+8.2 percent year-over-yearOnline and other nonstore retailers:
-3.3 percent month-to-month+7.7 percent year-over-yearSporting goods, hobby, book & music stores:
-0.2 percent month-to-month+7.2 percent year-over-year
