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Retailers Get Late Shopping Surge, Boosting Holiday Sales

U.S. consumers snap up women's clothing, furniture this month
Retail sales climbed 7.9% between Black Friday and Christmas

Video player cover image — Holiday Retail Sales: Winners and Losers of 2015

By

Shannon Pettypiece and

Lauren Coleman-Lochner

December 28, 2015, 2:40 PM UTCUpdated onDecember 28, 2015, 6:45 PM UTC

A late surge in shopping and pent-up demand for women’s clothing gave a boost to holiday sales, according to early spending figures.

U.S. retail sales rose 7.9 percent between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, excluding cars and gas, with women’s apparel and furniture seeing the biggest gains, according to figures from MasterCard Advisors. For all of November and December, sales were up 4.6 percent -- slightly better than expected.