Holiday Retail Sales Best in Five Years

New York, NY, Dec. 28, 2010 -- Holiday retail sales surged 5.5% for the best performance in five years, said MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse.

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% gain a year earlier. The numbers include sales made over the Web.

Last-minute Christmas shoppers pushed sales at stores open at least a year up 4.8% in the week ended Dec. 25, the strongest year-over-year gain since April, the International Council of Shopping Centers said today.

The numbers are based on the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. today.

Luxury sales rose 6.7%, compared with 0.9% a year ago. Consumer electronics sales increased 1.2% after falling 4.6% a year earlier. Furniture climbed 3.8% after a 2.2% drop last year.