Retail sales recover with last-minute shopping

The holiday shopping season ended on a strong note, according to sales and foot traffic analyzed by ShopperTrak. National retail sales and foot traffic increased 2.5 percent in November and December when compared to the same two months in 2011. ShopperTrak estimates shoppers spent $248.8 billion during the 2012 holiday shopping period.

With 32 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, many consumers procrastinated finishing their holiday shopping, the company said. But last-minute shopping and post-Christmas exchanges drove large increases in sales and foot traffic during the final days of December.

Three of the busiest foot traffic days were in late December: Saturday, Dec. 22; Saturday, Dec. 15; and Sunday, Dec. 23, which ranked second, third and fourth busiest (Black Friday on Nov. 23 retained the top spot.) Top sales days followed a similar schedule, with the top five best sales days being Black Friday (1), Saturday, Dec. 22 (2), Sunday, Dec. 23 (3), Friday, Dec. 21 (4) and Saturday, Dec. 15 (5).