Retail sales grew 4.9 percent over holiday season

Mastercard is reporting that Christmas sales increased 4.9 percent, setting a new record for dollars spent and marking the largest year-over-year increase since 2011, as consumer confidence continues to grow.

The Mastercard SpendingPulse data covers holiday shopping from November 1 through to December 24 in the US, covering retail sales across all payment types, including cash and check, both in-store and online, with e-commerce recording large gains of 18.1 percent compared to 2016.

Key results includes specialty apparel and department stores, which both traditionally see the bulk of sales happen in-store, reporting moderate gains, while retailers’ heavy early-season promotions paid off said Mastercard, as the first three weeks of November saw a “significant jump” in sales.

This holiday season also saw shoppers spending late into the season, with December 23 next to Black Friday in terms of single-day spending. This last-minute spending was driven by certain categories including jewellery, which grew 5.9 percent.

“Evolving consumer preferences continue to play out in the aisles and online sites of retailers across the US,” said Sarah Quinlan, senior vice president of market Insights, Mastercard. “Overall, this year was a big win for retail. The strong US economy was a contributing factor, but we also have to recognise that retailers who tried new strategies to engage holiday shoppers were the beneficiaries of this sales increase.”

Mastercard also released its SpendingPulse results for the UK holiday shopping season, with retail sales increasing 2.2 percent in December, helped by online spending for clothing, which saw a jump of 11.5 percent year-on-year.