U.S. retail holiday sales rose 4.9%, biggest increase since 2011 (per Mastercard, at least...)

Despite thousands of store closings this year, Americans supplied a final flurry of spending to give retailers their best holiday season sales since 2011, figures released Tuesday show.
U.S. year-end holiday retail sales rose 4.9% compared to the same period last year, a welcome gift to U.S. retailers amid new signs of consumer confidence.
Online retail shopping similarly increased 18.1%, while overall consumer buying during the holiday period set a record for dollars spent, according to the sales report issued by Mastercard SpendingPulse.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/12/26/u-s-retail-holiday-sales-jump-4-9-biggest-increase-since-2011/981464001/