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Does Santa’s Early Arrival Mean Retailers will have a Merry Christmas?
(Note: companies that
could be impacted by the content of this article are listed at the base of the
story [desktop version]. This article uses third-party references to provide a
bullish, bearish, and balanced point of view; sources are listed after the
Balanced section.)
The National Retail Federation said that a record number of U.S. consumers spent more online and in stores over the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday than last year. An NRF survey found 190 million people (up 14%) made purchases spending an average of $361.90 (up 16%). Eighty-six percent of consumers had begun their shopping versus 77% last year at this time. The increase in spending is well ahead of early NRF estimates for a 3.8-4.2% increase for the holiday season. Does the strong start to holiday shopping mean a merry Christmas for the retail sector? Or can the strong start be explained by other factors?