LAKE WORTH BEACH, Fla. — With the end of the year just days away, retailers have something to smile about. Early estimates show holiday sales up close to 8%.
According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks an array of payments including cash and debit cards, holiday sales rose 7.6%, which is a slower pace than the 8.5% increase from last year. The report shows clothing sales up 4.4%, jewelry and electronics sales down about 5% and in-person spending up about 6.8%.
Business owners in downtown Lake Worth Beach are celebrating a successful holiday season.
Shane Logan, who owns the Dancing Elephant bookstore downtown, said the holiday rush was more than he expected.
"It's been crazy. What we used to be doing on a busy weekend, we are doing on a weekday now, numbers-wise," Logan said. "It's more than doubled during the holiday season."
But he's learning more about preparing for next year.
"You have to really be on top of it or else you fall behind," Logan said. "You could have a section that's totally wiped out, and you could miss out on an opportunity for someone walking by."
Logan opened the store in August and had his biggest day of sales since the opening week on Tuesday. He said he prepared for the Christmas sales, but shoppers outpaced him.
"I think we underestimated how busy we would be," he said.
Joe Lipovich owns Lilo's Streetfood and Bar, also in downtown Lake Worth Beach.
"Christmas week is a strong week for us," Lipovich said. "We were expecting this. We were pacing at a certain growth, and we are getting that growth through the Christmas week."
He is looking forward to a strong season ahead.
"Being the way Lake Worth is configured, it's a lot more housing and homes, so our season really kicks in after President's [Day] weekend, but Christmas week is great," Lipovich said. "It's not out of control, but from what we usually get here, it's been good."
A bigger picture of holiday spending will be released next month when the National Retail Federation puts out its combined report for November and December.