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Purchase, N.Y. – While retail sales growth didn’t top last year’s big boom, it was still strong, or at least strong-ish.
According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, U.S. retail sales excluding automotive climbed 7.6% year-over-year for the period between Nov. 1 through Dec. 24. That exceeded the forecast Mastercard issued in September, which predicted 7.1% growth and assumed a spike in early-season shopping to shift into October.
It is worth noting that the numbers are not adjusted for inflation. Earlier this month, Walmart Inc. CEO Doug McMillon cautioned investors at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference that retail sales this year would be pumped up by inflation and indicated that unit volume growth would be the standard to measure.
MasterCard reported online sales growth of 10.6% compared to the same period last year – and gained share. E-commerce made up 21.6% of total retail sales, up from 20.9% in 2021 and 20.6% in 2020.
Black Friday was once again the top spending day of the season, up +12% year-over-year excluding automotive. This was followed closely by Saturdays in December, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse.
“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.”
Spending on experiences bounced back this year. In-person dining at restaurants jumped 15.1%.
“Inflation altered the way U.S. 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 at the Mastercard Economics Institute. “Consumers and retailers navigated the season well, displaying resilience amid increasing economic pressures.”
Mastercard SpendingPulse measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment.
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