NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Did holiday procrastinators come through in time to give retailers a much-needed last-minute sales boost?
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| Discounts were heavy during the holiday shopping season. |
It still may be too soon to tell, with industry analysts saying they expect a mediocre holiday season.
But at least one industry group, the National Retail Federation (NRF), said Sunday that Christmas Eve shoppers this year came out in record numbers.
"Looks like last-minute shoppers lived up to their high expectations," NRF spokeswoman Ellen Tolley told CNN/Money, referring to the group's forecasters.
"Malls were packed on Christmas Eve," she added. "It will go down as one of the biggest day before Christmas on record. Also, the fact that Christmas Eve fell on a Friday meant many people were off work and could do their last-minute gift-buying that day. Retailers accommodated them by extending their hours."
Tolley said the group was standing by its projection of 4.5 percent sales growth over last year for the November-December holiday shopping season, a crucial two-month shopping period that can account for more than half of retailers' annual sales and profits.
This year, industry analysts had also expected merchants to benefit from two additional shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
But some malls in the Midwest reported Friday that customer traffic was below seasonal levels due to heavy snow storms in the region.
Tolley said the NRF did not expect the storms to have had a major impact on last-minute sales.
As for post Christmas sales, Tolley said gift cards could be the "wild card" in determining the final sales tally. Retailers log gift card sales when the cards are redeemed, not when they are sold.
The NRF estimates consumers will spend $17.34 billion on gift cards this holiday season, up $100 million from last holiday.
While the retail group has projected a 4.5 percent sales gain, retail analyst Marshal Cohen at market research NPD Group said Friday that he expects holiday sales to grow 3 to 4 percent.
"The season will be just OK -- not something to get overly excited about," he said.
Heavy snow storm and icy conditions covered the Midwest Friday, making for dangerous driving conditions and hampering holiday travel plans.
The snow also meant that many gifts being shipped might not get there in time for Christmas.
Retailers nationwide were offering big discounts of 40 to 60 percent to lure shoppers and some even stepped up discounts on Sunday.
One strong has been Internet sales, which are up 28 percent so far this holiday season.
Another area of strength has been luxury goods, which are selling briskly in many parts of the country.
The big transport companies said the weather would make it hard to get gifts to people by Christmas.
UPS said that some packages set for delivery Thursday and Friday might not get there on time but should arrive by Monday.
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