HOLIDAY SALES ROSE 8.5% COMPARED TO LAST YEAR
It was a happy holiday for retailers according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which revealed last week that overall retail sales from November 1 to December 24 (excluding automotive purchases) rose by 8.5 percent compared to last year.
In addition, online sales grew by 11 percent compared to 2020’s holiday season.
“Shoppers were eager to secure their gifts ahead of the retail rush, with conversations surrounding supply chain and labor supply issues sending consumers online and to stores in droves,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and Chairman of Saks Incorporated. “Consumers splurged throughout the season, with apparel and department stores experiencing strong growth as shoppers sought to put their best dressed foot forward.”
Findings from Mastercard SpendingPulse underscore the strength of the holiday shopper across channels, with consumers returning to stores (+8.1% YOY), and e-commerce continuing to expand, up 11.0% compared to 2020.
The study also found that customers shopped early and that e-commerce made up 20.9 percent of total retail sales, up from 20.6 percent in 2020 and 14.6 percent in 2019.
Listening to all the independent retailers marveling at their record sales, I would say that the rest of the brick and mortar sector – – – national chains funded either by stock markets or private equity – – – fared far worse. Good.