It looks like holiday spending might not be as robust this year as last year, and one snowy December weekend could make matters much worse for retailers.
Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures consumer spending across all payment types including cash and check, is calling for U.S. retail sales excluding automobiles to grow 3.1% from November 1 to December 24. That’s compared with 5.1% growth during the same period in 2018.
Growth of 3.1% — or a 3.8% increase excluding gasoline in addition to automotive sales — is “in line with the solid performance” thus far in 2019, Mastercard said.
To top that off, there’s a shift in the calendar year, putting six fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas compared with a year ago. That’s actually the shortest holiday calendar… CNBC News
