FINANCIAL TIMES: US retailers have recorded their best holiday sales season in more than a decade, as an improving labour market and lower fuel prices encouraged more consumers to splash out over the festive period.
Same-store sales for the nine weeks of November and December gained 5 per cent, according to the Retail Metrics Index, topping forecasts for 3.8 per cent growth. It was the best performance for bricks-and-mortar shops and their ecommerce arms since the data were first tracked in 2000…
The pick-up in sales comes at a time when US consumer confidence is at its strongest since 2007, according to a December survey from the University of Michigan. The biggest improvement in sentiment came from the poorest third of the income group, which along with the middle third has benefited the most from the decline in petrol prices… (more)
