Mastercard: U.S. Retail Sales Grew During the 2022 Holidays

U.S. retail sales during the 2022 holiday season (excluding automotive) increased 7.6% year over year, according to data from Mastercard SpendingPulse.

Mastercard SpendingPulse measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment and is not adjusted for inflation, according to a Dec. 26 news release on the numbers, which were measured from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24.

“This holiday retail season looked different than years past,” Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and chairman of Saks Inc., said in the release. “Retailers discounted heavily but consumers diversified their holiday spending to accommodate rising prices and an appetite for experiences and festive gatherings post-pandemic.”

Mastercard’s preliminary insights showed online sales grew 10.6% while in-store spending increased 6.8% compared to the same period in 2021, according to the data. E-commerce made up 21.6% of total retail sales, up from 20.9% in 2021 and 20.6% in 2020. The channel continues seeing elevated growth as consumers prioritize convenience and availability of discounts.

Other trends from this holiday season included:

• Black Friday remained the top spending day of the 2022 holiday season, up 12% YOY (excluding automotive), though was followed closely by Saturdays in December.

• The apparel category saw a jump of 4.4%, while department stores saw a slight increase of 1% and jewelry and electronics were down 5.4% and 5.3%, respectively, from 2021 to 2022.
• In-person dining continued to show strong momentum with restaurants up 15.1% YOY, building on the ongoing demand for experiences.

“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,” Michelle Meyer, North America chief economist, Mastercard Economics Institute, said in the release. “Consumers and retailers navigated the season well, displaying resilience amid increasing economic pressures.”