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US apparel sales up on Black Friday-SpendingPulse

Mon Dec 1, 2008 3:51pm EST

CHICAGO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Sales at U.S. specialty apparel retailers rose 1.6 percent on Friday and Saturday from a year earlier, but sales at electronics specialty retailers fell 14.3 percent, according to data from SpendingPulse.

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Luxury retailers saw a 2.4 percent increase, SpendingPulse, a data service provided by MasterCard Advisors, said on Monday. SpendingPulse defines luxury as high-end department stores, jewelry, leather goods and apparel retailers. Ecommerce sales rose 11.8 percent.

Sales on "Black Friday" and the Saturday that followed were better than those seen earlier in the month, said Michael McNamara, vice president of SpendingPulse.

"We definitely think there was some pent-up demand that came to the front lines on Black Friday," McNamara said. "Major discounting obviously attracted that."

"But also, there were really ideal weather conditions," McNamara said.

SpendingPulse is a macroeconomic indicator that estimates U.S. retail sales across all payment forms, including cash and checks. (Reporting by Brad Dorfman; Editing by Brian Moss)

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