http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/24/us-usa-holidaysales-idUSKBN0K218A20141224
“...Analytics firm RetailNext, which tracks specialty stores and large footprint retailers, said sales dropped 8.9 percent over the weekend versus a year ago, and store traffic dipped 10.2 percent. However, customers who did hit the stores spent more. Specialty stores in the United States include chains like Best Buy Co Inc (BBY.N) and large footprint retailers include Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) and Target.
“Even with this drop in growth, Super Saturday was still better compared to Black Friday,” said Shelley Kohan, vice president of retail consulting at RetailNext. “It generated a tad more in terms of sales on slightly less traffic.”
Promotions earlier in November took a toll on in-store sales during the Thanksgiving weekend, when total spending fell by 11 percent from a year earlier. “
Why Christmas sales numbers haven’t been in the news...
RE: ... large footprint retailers, said sales dropped 8.9 percent over the weekend versus a year ago, and store traffic dipped 10.2 percent.
Maybe people are buying more online nowadays... that could be the trend.
EDIT TO ADD.... I’d really like to see the UPS and Fedex numbers. That could give us an indicator of how strong online purchases are.