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Isle holiday sales
grow 5.1 percent

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Star-Bulletin

Hawaii maintained its lead over the rest of the nation in same-store retail sales growth during the holiday shopping season, with a 5.1 percent boost in spending over last year, according to a survey of purchases made by check.

TeleCheck Services Inc., a check-acceptance firm, said yesterday that last-minutes sales helped push final numbers from the shopping season, which lasts from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. TeleCheck had predicted that Hawaii's holiday figures would increase by 4.5 percent this year. Last year, Hawaii's holiday sales by check led the nation with 6.8 percent growth, according to the TeleCheck survey, which measures the total dollar value of check sales.

Nationally, holiday check sales rose 3.1 percent this year, falling under TeleCheck's projection of 4 percent. Weather, rising energy costs and falling consumer confidence were factors in the disappointing U.S. performance, TeleCheck said. Purchases by check account for one-third of total retail spending, according to TeleCheck, a subsidiary of Houston-based First Data Corp.