Mastercard SpendingPulse Data Shows Holiday Season Sales Up 7.6%

Mastercard reports today that US retail sales, excluding automotive, increased 7.6% year-over-year (YoY), this holiday season (November 1 to December 24).

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The preliminary data is from Mastercard SpendingPulse measuring in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment and is not adjusted for inflation.

What you need to know: Ecommerce continues to take over retail, with online sales growing 10.6% compared to the same period last year, the preliminary insights show.

This holiday season, ecommerce made up 21.6% of total retail sales, up from 20.9% in 2021 and 20.6% in 2020.

The channel continues to experience elevated growth as consumers prioritize convenience and availability of discounts.

Black Friday remains the top spending day of the holiday season, with 2022 coming in up +12% year-over-year, excluding automotive. This was followed closely by Saturdays in December.

Building on the ongoing demand for experiences, in-person dining continued to show strong momentum, with restaurants up 15.1% YOY.

From gatherings with co-workers to dinners out with friends and family, the festive season brought consumers out for the holidays.

What they said: “This holiday retail season looked different than years past,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and Chairman of Saks Incorporated.

“Retailers discounted heavily but consumers diversified their holiday spending to accommodate rising prices and an appetite for experiences and festive gatherings post-pandemic.”

“Inflation altered the way US consumers approached their holiday shopping – from hunting for the best deals to making trade-offs that stretched gift-giving budgets,” said Michelle Meyer, North America Chief Economist, Mastercard Economics Institute.

“Consumers and retailers navigated the season well, displaying resilience amid increasing economic pressures.”

Key Trends in Categories (2022 Sales vs. 2021 sales)

• In-store: up 6.8%
• Ecommerce sales: up 10.6%
• Apparel: up 4.4%
• Department Stores: up 1.0%
• Electronics: down 5.3%
• Jewelry: down 5.4%
• Restaurants: up 15.1%

About Mastercard SpendingPulse

Mastercard SpendingPulse reports on national retail sales across all payment types in select markets around the world.

The findings are based on aggregate sales activity in the Mastercard payments network, coupled with survey-based estimates for certain other payment forms, such as cash and check.

Mastercard SpendingPulse defines “US retail sales” as sales at retailers and food services merchants of all sizes.

Sales activity within the services sector (for example, travel services such as airlines and lodging) are not included in the total retail sales figure. Holiday spending insights are preliminary.

More data to come: In January, we expect more data from Adobe, reporting on ecommerce sales for the period from November 1 to December 31. Earlier this month, Adobe already said that online retailers had a great start to the holiday season over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend.

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