U.S. Retail Sales Rise 3.5% as Shoppers Snap Up Deals
Weekly retail sales rose in the week ended Nov. 27 as shoppers flocked to the Black Friday sales with renewed confidence following the economic downturn.
Sales climbed 0.5 percent from the preceding week, the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said today in a statement. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 3.5 percent from a year earlier. The results don’t include online sales.
Confidence among U.S. consumers increased more than forecast in November to the highest level in five months, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.
About 212 million shoppers went to stores and websites over the holiday weekend, on average spending $365.34, according to the National Retail Federation. The proportion of sales online rose to more than one-third of the total, the highest ever.
Retailers lured shoppers with discounting and promotions like J.C. Penney Co.’s $10 diamond-accented earrings. The ICSC said it expects November sales to rise as much as 4 percent compared with last year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ian Thomson in New York at ithomson2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Robin Ajello at Rajello@bloomberg.net
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