Chicago – The day after Christmas proved to be the
fourth-busiest shopping day of the holiday season for brick-and-mortar
retailers.
According to market research firm ShopperTrak, which
monitored foot traffic at 25,000 U.S. storefronts, total retail sales rose 25.5
percent on Dec. 26 to $7.1 billion, while store visits increased nearly 26
percent. Both figures exclude the food and automotive channels.
“Dec. 26 was likely the last door-buster day of the season
as shoppers returned unwanted gift items and shopped for marked-down
merchandise,” observed ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin.
The day was bested in traffic and sales volume only by Black
Friday (Nov. 26), Dec. 23, and “Super Saturday” (Dec. 17).
The data also pointed to a surfeit of pre-Christmas
procrastinators. Sales for the week ending Christmas Eve rose 14.8 percent
year-over-year, to about $44 billion, and were up 37.8 percent from the week
before.
The total month-to-date sales tally, through Dec. 26, is up
4.7 percent over last year, ShopperTrak said.
