U.S. retail economy goes slow

According to a new MasterCard SpendingPulse report on U.S. Retail Industry Segments, apparel retailers experience 3.6 percent sales’ rise in holiday shopping. The study was started from the Friday after Thanksgiving through midnight December 24.

Photo: U.S. retail economy goes slow

The service, known as SpendingPulse, provides granular measures of the U.S. retail economy, both nationally and regionally, with a degree of speed and accuracy surpassing spending data estimates from traditional sources such as Department of Commerce and chain store sales.

The figures prove the strength of the 2007 holiday shopping season, which excited earlier less positive expectations, as U.S. economy faced a crisis. But still the results are low and bereaving of hope.

The close monitoring of the U.S. consumer showed that the named sector is seen as the buoy to keep the U.S. economy from slipping into a recession. U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) may weaken in the fourth quarter and show either no expansion or up just by 1 percent.

U.S. specialty apparel chains, including Gap Inc, Aeropostale Inc and Urban Outfitters Inc, have brought 1.4 percent of increase over last year, a slight improvement from 0.5 percent at mid-season.