The holidays came and went and, for the most part, the news surrounding the consumer had been…gulp…positive? People spent money. Lots of it apparently. According to Mastercard Inc. ($MA), overall holiday sales from November 1 through Christmas Eve were up 3.4% (excluding autos). The total figure hit $880b, which exceeded Mastercard’s forecast. The question for many retailers is: “where did consumers spend?”*

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