Good news before 2009 ends....Holiday retail sales this year increased approximately 3.6 percent compared with 2008, and were bolstered by online shopping and electronics purchases, according to data from SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard.

Excluding auto and gasoline sales, there was a jump in purchasing the week before Christmas, the data shows, both online and at retail outlets across the U.S. Previously, the National Retail Federation had predicted a one percent decline in 2009 seasonal spending.

SpendingPulse measures retails sales across all forms of payment — cash, credit and checks, but does not disclose spending totals in dollars.

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