Retail sales, including online transactions, showed year-over-year improvement during the first half of this month, according to MasterCard Advisors.
E-commerce sales were up 11.4% year-over-year in the first two weeks of November, according to MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse report, an index that tracks sales through credit card and other payment types. Online sales had grown at a rate of about 7% since this summer, which some industry experts said was an indication of the segment maturing. The growth rate was probably helped by early shipping deals and other special online promotions, noted Michael McNamara, VP of research and analysis for SpendingPulse.
Apparel sales were up 9.7% in the half-month, better than the 8.2% growth the category saw in October. Luxury spending, excluding jewelry sales, was up 6.7% year-over-year, an improvement from October’s 4.2%. Electronic sales increased 0.7% year-over-year, after dropping 3.1% in October.
“For now at least, we are seeing some decent growth numbers, and while levels are not yet back to 2007, the year-over-year growth stats are helping to get the holiday season off to an encouraging start,” said McNamara.
A MasterCard Advisors’ representative could not be immediately reached for comment.
