Retail

US holiday retail sales rise 3.0% - Mastercard report

U.S. ecommerce sales jumped 49% in this year’s holiday shopping season, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse report, underscoring the COVID-19 pandemic’s role in transforming customers’ shopping habits.

Famous brands close their Big Apple shops in record numbers

Manhattan absorbed the deepest cuts with 546 chain closures – ­almost half of the city total – due to the borough’s dependence on office workers, tourists and wealthy residents who have decamped to homes outside the city.