Target raised its fourth-quarter sales forecast Thursday after more consumers turned to its stores and website for holiday shopping — particularly on days known for deep discounts.

Sales for the 2024 holiday shopping season turned out to be robust and better than expected, as easing inflation on merchandise drove shoppers to buy, according to the nation’s largest retail trade group.

Key Takeaways Retail spending hit $994.1 billion in November and December, coming in 4% higher than last holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation.The trade group was expecting holiday sales to grow between 2.

The final word on holiday sales is in - and retailers are feeling pretty good. Core retail sales grew a stronger than expected 4 percent during November and December combined, according to the National Retail Federation's reckoning of the latest official figures from the Census Bureau on Thursday.