The luxury and jewelry categories showed continued growth in
June 2011, according to the latest report from MasterCard Advisors
SpendingPulse, a macroeconomic service that tracks national retail and
services sales.

The SpendingPulse Luxury Index, which doesn’t include
jewelry, was up 8.2 percent, the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year
gains, the report said.

“June is peak season for weddings and graduations, and this
may have helped the continuing strong growth of both luxury and jewelry
sectors,” said Michael McNamara, vice president, research and analysis for
MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, in a statement.

E-commerce sales in June experienced 15.2 percent growth
over June 2010, the eighth consecutive month of gains. However, e-commerce
jewelry sales declined by 12.9 percent from June 2010.

JCK