Late Surge Of Holiday Shopping Lifts Retail Sales

A late surge in shopping and pent-up demand for women’s clothing gave a boost to holiday sales, according to early spending figures. U.S. retail sales rose 7.9 percent between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, excluding cars and gas, with women’s apparel and furniture seeing the biggest gains, according to figures from MasterCard Advisors. For all of November and December, sales were up 4.6 percent — slightly better than expected. Read more at The Seattle Times.