Online Spending Buoys Holiday Jewelry Sales

RAPAPORT... Jewelry sales in the US rose 1.8% during the holiday period, amid strong growth in e-commerce purchasing. Online sales of jewelry rose 9% during the two-month period, according to data from Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracked purchases made from November 1 through Christmas Eve. Retail sales for all divisions - excluding automobiles - rose 3.4% year on year. Total online buying jumped a record 19% over the same period a year ago, making up 15% of the total."E-commerce sales hit a record high this year, with more people doing their holiday shopping online," Steve Sadove, senior adviser for Mastercard, said Thursday. "Due to a later-than-usual Thanksgiving holiday, we saw retailers offering omnichannel sales earlier in the season, meeting consumers' demand for the best deals across all channels and devices."The figure missed the National Retail Federation's (NRF) forecast of a 3.8% to 4.2% increase for the November-December period. Holiday sales have increased by an average of 3.7% for the past five years. Super Saturday, which was projected to be the year's biggest sales day, according to a survey by the NRF, also fell below expectations. Store traffic for the day fell 10% over the previous year, according to Sensormatic Solutions' ShopperTrak data, The Wall Street Journal noted. Image: A shopping mall in the US. (pxfuel)