NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Last-minute shoppers may have held the magic wand for retailers hoping to wrap up this year's holiday season with a sales surge over Christmas.
Discount retailer Target Corp. (TGT: Research, Estimates) said Monday that sales at its stores open at least a year -- a key retail measure known as same-store sales -- were running above plan for the week that included Christmas, but at the lower end of its expectations for all of December.
Separately, Visa USA said total U.S. holiday spending on its debit and credit cards jumped 14.2 percent to $97.9 billion for the period between Nov. 28 and Dec. 28. While this may be encouraging, the data may also largely reflect a shift toward consumers making more payments with plastic.
The highest grossing retail sectors for Visa cards this holiday were the department stores, apparel, and mail and phone order sales, for a total of over $10 billion.
Additionally, Visa said consumers logged onto the Internet in record numbers between Nov. 28 and Dec. 28, with online purchases on Visa cards increasing 48.9 percent compared to the 2002 holiday season. The total dollar volume for Visa purchases online exceeded $7.6 billion, setting a new four-week record.
Total online spending rose 37 percent to $15.8 billion for the period between Nov. 1 and Dec. 19, according to Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings eSpending Report.
Christmas demand failed to live up to expectations for many retailers despite an improving economy, as they blamed bad weather, a heightened security alert and the popularity of plastic gift cards. But a late-month shopping boost could have made a difference.
"We believe that most retailers were in line or slightly above plan for the fourth week of December, boosted by pent-up demand caused by two snowstorms earlier in the month and the trend toward later buying in the Christmas season," Merrill Lynch analyst Daniel Barry wrote in a Monday research note.
-- Reuters contributed to this report
|
