For Immediate Release
December 29, 2003

LANSING — Michigan retailers’ holiday sales via credit and debit cards increased 13.01 percent through Christmas Eve, according to the Michigan Retailers Association (MRA).

"Sales came on strong in the last-minute rush, plus there was an additional day this season," said Larry Meyer, MRA chairman and CEO. "Overall, it appears to be a good season for retailers—as good or better than predicted."

MRA’s figures are based on same-store credit and debit card sales for the 27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year and the 26 days last year. Increased consumer use of credit and debit cards over cash and checks accounts for a portion of the overall increase, perhaps as much as 4 percent, Meyer pointed out.

With three days to go before Christmas, sales via credit and debit card were up 5.89 percent for the season—the low point after a fast start the weekend after Thanksgiving. The cumulative increase jumped to 8.15 percent on Tuesday and to 13.01 on Wednesday.

Meyer cautioned, however, that the full season stretches to the end of December. Post-Christmas sales appear to be running at a less robust clip: cumulative sales were up 10.08 percent for the 30-day period from Thanksgiving through this past Saturday.

Retailers went into the season projecting a 5 percent increase for the period, according to the Michigan Retail Index, a joint project of MRA and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. That forecast is based on a survey of MRA members.

The Michigan Retailers Association is the unified voice of retailing in Michigan and the nation’s largest state trade association of general merchandise retailers. MRA’s nearly 6,000 retail business members operate more than 13,000 stores across the state.

Note: William Strauss, Senior Economist and Economic Advisor with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, can be reached at 312.322.8151