U.S. holiday shopping season sales set to hit new highs

Data from Mastercard shows that sales at both online and offline retailers will be bullish during this year's US holiday shopping season.

U.S. retail sales are expected to grow 7.4% this holiday season , according to Mastercard’s SpendingPulse forecast of overall retail sales data for all payment types .

Even as consumers return to physical stores , their online spending rate is expected to remain higher than last year (up 7.6%). With the holiday shopping season starting earlier, online sales are expected to grow 7.5% year-over-year during the holiday season and 59.3% year-over-year in two years, a record high for the channel.

Senior Advisor, MasterCard, Saks   “This holiday season will be defined by early shopping, bigger price tags and digital experiences,” said Steve Sadoff, former CEO and chairman of Incorporated.

Mastercard noted that the holiday shopping season will continue the high growth in retail sales that we have seen previously . For example, U.S. retail sales (excluding autos and gasoline) in August increased 8.1% year-over-year and 7.7% compared to August 2019.

Compared to the same period last year, online sales in August increased by 8.1% and 82%, respectively. The momentum was particularly evident in major gift categories . Categories including apparel (+75.2%), electronics (+12.4%) and department stores (+28.7%) showed strong year-on-year growth .

The Mastercard SpendingPulse report also highlights other trends worth noting.

Affected by supply chain and labor availability issues , retailers are expected to offer omnichannel promotions earlier than expected - especially in the electronics, apparel and department store sectors. Technologies such as contactless and buy online, pick up in store will continue to be popular with consumers and retailers.

Consumers will be more willing to shop, driven by government stimulus measures and previously suppressed spending . The luxury retail and jewelry sectors have experienced strong sustained growth over the past six months , and Mastercard SpendingPulse expects this trend to continue into the holiday season.

According to the National Retail Federation, despite the impact of the epidemic , holiday spending in 2020 was the highest on record , up 8.3% from the same period in 2019 , the highest growth rate since 2002. Holiday sales are expected to continue to hit new highs this year.

Holiday Shopping Season

Mastercard

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