初期销售数据显示，美国零售商的圣诞节过得非常愉快

初期数据显示，零售业在2018年的圣诞树下收获的大礼包里装着满满的金元宝。

万事达卡旗下数据研究机构SpendingPulse统计了2018年12月1日至24日的消费者购物数据，发现美国零售业销售额超过了8500亿美元，比2017年增加5.1%，是六年来最强劲的支出表现。

美国零售联合会（The National Retail Federation）早前预测，每位消费者平均将支出1007美元用于装饰品、糖果、礼品和其它消费。

万事达的数据还显示，2018年的圣诞节对零售电商来说也是个丰收年，销售额比2017年上升了19.1%。以亚马逊（Amazon）为例，该公司称2018年的全球假日销售额创下历史纪录。仅在美国，亚马逊的Prime会员活动为10亿件商品提供了免费送货服务，通过亚马逊虚拟私人助手Alexa系统语音下单的订单量则达到2017年的三倍。

万事达的数据还显示，服装类的销售额同比增长7.9%，是2010年以来最大的增幅。房屋装修类的销售额增长了9%，家具和家居装饰类的销售额增长了2.3%。

但零售业的某些细分类别和公司拿到的圣诞袜子里装的却是煤块儿。百货商场的销售额整体下降1.3%，可能是因为一些大商场在2018年关门停业了，不过百货商场的在线业务却获得了10.2%的增长。

电子产品和家用电器的销售额整体下降了0.7%。坊间消息称，这一下跌与圣诞老人试图把冰箱和洗衣机塞到烟囱里没有任何关系。（财富中文网）

译者：宣峰

The big gift box under the retail industry’s Christmas tree was full—of cash, according to early data.

U.S. retail sales were up this year 5.1% to more than $850 billion, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, a report from the payment card vendor that looks at consumer purchases from December 1 through 24. It was the strongest performance in six years.

The National Retail Federation had projected that consumers on average had planned to spend $1,007 for decorations, candy, gifts, and other purchases for themselves.

It was also a great year for online retail, with sales jumping 19.1% over 2017, according to the Mastercard study. An example was Amazon, which said it saw record global holiday sales. The company claimed that it shipped a billion products for free in the U.S. alone through its Amazon Prime subscription program. It also said that the number of voice-placed orders over its virtual personal assistant Alexa was triple that of 2017.

Apparel sales were up 7.9% year over year, showing the best growth since 2010, according to Mastercard. Home improvement sales saw a 9% gain. Home furniture and furnishings saw a 2.3% gain.

But some categories and companies did get a lump of coal in their stockings. Department stores saw a collective 1.3% sales decline, which may be due to store closings. Their online operations did deliver with a 10.2% gain.

And overall sales of electronics and appliances were down 0.7%. According to rumors, the drop had nothing to do with Santa trying to get refrigerators and washing machines down chimneys.