U.S. retailers’ 2010 holiday sales jumped 5.5 percent for the best performance in five years as shoppers snapped up clothing and jewelry at Macy’s Inc., Tiffany & Co. and other stores.
Retail sales, excluding autos, rose to $584 billion from Nov. 5 through Dec. 24, said MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse, which measures retail sales by all payment forms. That compared with a 4.1 percent gain a year earlier. The numbers include sales made over the Web.
Consumers bought coats at chains such as Bloomingdale’s as their confidence improved alongside the U.S. job market. Their spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the American economy, is a positive sign heading into next year, Michael McNamara, a vice president at Purchase, New York-based SpendingPulse, said yesterday.
“Increasing confidence has freed up more money from savings,†McNamara said. “We pretty much put a bow on what has been a positive season across a number of retail areas. We are seeing this momentum building and being sustained.â€
