Holiday sales rose 3 percent below 3.7 percent gain

Holiday shoppers flocked online during the critical holiday shopping season, but overall sales in November and December were disappointing.

Sales rose 3 percent to about $625.9 billion, according to The National Retail Federation. That's below the forecast for a 3.7 percent gain the group had expected. The shortfall came even as stores aggressively pushed discounts throughout the .

The disappointing total sales figure underscores challenges for retailers ahead as shoppers continue to shift away from physical stores and research and buy online.

Indeed, , which are included in the figure, rose 9 percent to $105 billion. That's higher than the group's original forecast of 6 percent to 8 percent growth.

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Citation: Holiday sales rose 3 percent below 3.7 percent gain (2016, January 15) retrieved 28 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2016-01-holiday-sales-rose-percent-gain.html
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