More than in any other season, the share of licensed retail sales during the end-of-year holiday shopping period is the highest of the year. Look out for TLL’s Annual Licensing Business Survey to hit your inboxes to share your perspective on how well (not not) 2017 went—but in the meantime, we look back on the general retail market.
Considering that current estimates peg holiday growth at up at least 5% compared to the previous year, the outlook for licensed retail sales appears particularly rosy.
According to the National Retail Federation, retail sales during the Nov. 1—Dec. 31 holiday period were up 5.5% in 2017 to reach $691.9 billion. This is the most growth observed since 2010 and beats the organization’s forecast of $678–$682 billion in sales, which would have been a 3.6–4% increase. The total holiday sales figures—which excludes restaurants, automobile dealers, and gasoline stations—includes $138.4 billion in online and other non-store sales, which were up 11.5% over the prior year. The NRF recorded increases in all categories save sporting goods, which was down 0.5% in 2017.
The U.S. Census Bureau, estimates that overall December sales—including automobiles, gasoline, and restaurants—were up 0.4% seasonally adjusted from Nov. and 5.4% from last year. Retail trade sales were up 0.3% from November and 5.6% from December last year. Advance estimates place total December retail sales at $495.5 billion and revised November figures at $493.6 billion—totaling $989 billion for the holiday season.