Holiday retail sales in the United States in 2022 grew 7.6% over last year, and online sales grew 10.6% – a fairly narrow spread. The data comes from Mastercard SpendingPulse which tracks in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment and is not adjusted for inflation.
During November 1 through December 24, ecommerce made up 21.6% of total retail sales. That was 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,” according to the report.
Weekend shopping won out, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. Black Friday was again the top spending day of the holiday season, up 12% year-over-year excluding automotive. This was followed closely by Saturdays in December.
Mastercard Economics Institute’s chief economist for North America Michelle Meyer said inflation caused shoppers to hunt for the best deals and make trade-offs to stretch their gift-giving budgets. Consumers and retailers displayed resilience amid increasing economic pressures, she said.
Mastercard provided a few category-specific statistics. Apparel was up 4.4% over last year, while Electronics and Jewelry were down over 5%.
Be careful interpreting this data….
Although consumers continue to spend, much of this retail data includes restaurant spending which was crazy good, and saw the biggest increase within the retail sectors.