Holiday Spending Exceeds Expectations

(Undated) — Holiday spending is up this year. According to MasterCard SpendingPulse data released yesterday, between November 1st and Christmas Eve, U.S. retail sales rose 3.8 percent year-over-year. That blew past expectations of three-point-two percent. Jewelry sales saw the biggest increase at four percent. Online shopping also saw a huge increase, climbing six-point-seven percent compared to last year. SpendingPulse is a macroeconomic indicator of retail sales based on actual, near-real-time spending data across various sectors.