Shoppers were looking for deals this holiday season and they found them.
Mastercard released its preliminary “Spending Pulse” report Thursday, which excludes car purchases. Mastercard found retail sales increased by 3.8% compared to last year, including sales from November through Christmas Eve.
The uptick in spending outpaced inflation, which increased by 2.7% in the 12-month period ending in November.
Shoppers spent more on apparel, electronics, and jewelry. Americans also ate out more as restaurants received a more than 6% boost leading up to the holidays.
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Shoppers increasingly turned to online shopping first, with online sales growing faster than in-store sales. Mastercard points out that shoppers were looking for deals with concentrated e-commerce spending during some of the biggest promotional periods, such as Black Friday.
“The holiday shopping season revealed a consumer who is willing and able to spend but driven by a search for value as can be seen by concentrated e-commerce spending during the biggest promotional periods,” said Michelle Meyer, chief economist, Mastercard Economics Institute. “Solid spending during this holiday season underscores the strength we observed from the consumer all year, supported by the healthy labor market and household wealth gains."
E-commerce had a 6.7% gain in spending in the last year, while in-person shopping had a 2.9% increase. Department stores also had an increase, with sales up 1.6% this holiday season.
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