The lobbying group had forecast holiday spending growth of 3.6 percent to 4 percent. Separately on Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department said retail sales grew 0.4 percent in December and 0.9 percent in November. Taken together, analysts said, that represented the best holiday spending performance since 2005. “The basic story line here is that holiday sales were extremely strong,” said Chris Christopher, executive director of research firm IHS Markit. Many retailers say they saw a bump in sales during the important holiday season.

Source: Washington Post January 12, 2018 19:29 UTC