Don C. Brunell: Holiday Shoppers Booted Scrooge Out of Christmas

It was good to be a merchant this Christmas, but it was even better to be a shopper.

According to MasterCard Spending Pulse, retail sales were up eight percent over 2014 while the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ price index shows that product prices were three percent lower.

Interestingly, a National Retail Federation (NRF) analysis reveals that while fewer dollars than expected came in because of deep pre-holiday discounts, the volume of purchases were up. Simply, while lower prices for sweaters, toys or electronic gadgets brought in less per unit revenue, consumers bought more.

Economist Richar...