Despite Cyber Monday falling in December, November retail sales rose 0.7% over the previous month. This increase was mainly driven higher by big ticket items. A year-to-year gain of 4.7% was also calculated by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The department samples approximately 65% of the business in the retail sector and estimates changes in sales. Confidence levels are generated based on the sample rates.
The survey used for developing these estimates is called Advance Monthly Retail Trade and Food Service Survey (MARTS).
References
Mullaney, T. (2013, December 11). November retail sales top forecasts. USA Today. Retrieved December 11, 2013, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/12/12/november-retail-sales/3996205/
Thomas, I., & Bucchioni, P. (2013, December 12). Advance monthly sales for retail and food services November 2013. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved December 13, 2013, from http://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf