Retail Sales Up 7.6 Percent this Holiday Season

Retail sales jumped 7.6 percent year-over-year from 2021’s holiday season, according to a new report.

The data comes from Mastercard’s SpendingPulse. In-store and online sales from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 were included in the analysis, which involves all forms of payment but excludes automotive sales.

While both electronics and jewelry spending were down roughly 5 percent compared to 2021, apparel and department store spending were up. Some other trends from the report:

• Online sales were up 10.6 percent compared to 2021, with e-commerce making up 21.6 percent of total retail sales, a slight increase from 2021.
• Black Friday was unsurprisingly the top spending day of the season — and the day’s sales increased 12 percent from 2021.
• Restaurants were the biggest winners of all this year, with spending up 15.1 percent year-over-year.

A recent Census Bureau report claimed sales were down in November from 2021 — if all the numbers are accurate, it means retailers had a big December this year.

For further details, check out the full report.