*By Kristen Lee*
This holiday season was a happy one for U.S. retail, which saw its biggest sales bump in six years, according to MasterCard.
Retail sales, excluding car purchases, rose 5.1 percent year-over-year for the key holiday shopping period between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 to reach more than $850 billion.
As expected, online spending led that surge, with a 19.1 increase in online spending during that same period, according to MasterCard.
But more surprisingly, brick-and-mortar sales also increased 3.3 percent. According to Adobe Analytics, a key trend boosting brick-and-mortar was a 47 percent spike in "Buy Online Pick-up In Store" spending, otherwise known as BOPIS. The rise in BOPIS benefits both consumers and retailers. Retailers save on shipping costs and can pass those savings on to consumers in the form of discounts. Also, when customers comes to stores for pick-up, they are more likely to spend more on impulse purchases there.
More broadly, improved retail sales this year can be attributed to better inventory levels, fewer promotions and greater investments in e-commerce platforms, Elaine Low, a reporter for Investor's Business Daily, told Cheddar Wednesday.
However, the success was not universal.
"What you're seeing really is this further widening gap between the winners and the losers in the space. You have the folks who are really doubling down on ecommerce, who are making investments in their technology platforms, and are really hoping to drive shoppers to buy more even while they are in-store," she said. "And you also have the guys on the other end of the spectrum, who are playing catch up with their e-com investments."
Some of America’s biggest retailers are working to increase their shipping speeds to please shoppers expecting faster and faster deliveries.
A group representing several big tech companies is suing Utah over state laws about children's social media use.
Google has agreed to pay $700 million to settle an anti-trust settlement.
Stocks were up after the closing bell as Wall Street continued to pin their hopes on rate cuts after last week's comments from the Fed.
Cheddar News' Need2Know is brought to you by Securitize, which helps unlock broader access to alternative investments in private businesses, funds, and other alternative assets. The private credit boom is here and the Hamilton Lane Senior Credit Opportunities Fund has tripled in assets under management in just six months from November 2022 through April this year. Visit Securitize.io to learn more.
Google has agreed to pay $700 million and make several other concessions to settle allegations that it had been stifling competition against its Android app store — the same issue that went to trial in another case that could result in even bigger changes.
Nicki Minaj just reached a milestone that no other woman in rap has reached.
Apple announced that starting this week, it will stop selling some versions of the Apple watch in the U.S.
Southwest Airlines will pay a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million settlement to resolve a federal investigation into a debacle in December 2022 when the airline canceled thousands of flights and stranded more than 2 million travelers over the holidays.
The House of Representatives recently passed a bill aimed at increasing transparency in healthcare.
