Post-Christmas bounty: $60 billion
New York — Retailers shouldn’t write off the 2007 holiday shopping season just yet. Consumers are set to bag $60 billion worth of merchandise over the next seven days, experts say.
Much of that spending – nearly half, according to one estimate – is expected to come when consumers cash in gift cards.
Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis for MasterCard Advisors, expects that retailers will ring up as much as 17 percent of their December sales in the last week of the month.
That translates to about $60 billion in holiday-related purchases or roughly 12.6 percent of $474.5 billion that the National Retail Federation expects consumers will spend on holiday-related shopping.
“Over the last five years, the post-Christmas week has become much more important because of gift card redemptions,” said McNamara.
MasterCard Advisors did not break out how much of the $60 billion will be spent using gift cards. A survey conducted by the retail federation in November estimated that gift card-related sales this holiday season could reach $26.3 billion.
Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst with NPD Group, estimates that more than 60 percent of holiday shoppers bought gift cards.
