Holiday shopping rose by 3.8 percent this year compared to last season, Mastercard said on Thursday.
Mastercard’s preliminary report shows that shoppers increased their spending year-over-year in the period between Nov. 1 and Christmas Eve. Spending also rose despite the holiday shopping season being shorter than usual, with only 27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The annual data was collected by Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks all kinds of payments, including on cash and debit cards.
“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 at the Mastercard Economics Institute, in the report. “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.”
The data revealed that the last five days of the holiday season accounted for 10 percent of all holiday spending.
Mastercard also found that online shopping remained the top choice for consumers. Options such as curbside pickup and delivery seem to be increasingly attractive for Americans. Online retail sales grew 6.7 percent year-over-year, whereas in-store sales increased by 2.9 percent.
While spending increased this holiday season, major distractions changed the pace of holiday shopping, according to separate data previously provided by consumer behavior specialists Circana. The distractions in discretionary spending emerged during the week before the U.S. presidential election and remained in the week through Nov. 9, 2024, which resulted in two consecutive weeks of 9 percent revenue declines.
“The competition for the consumer’s attention keeps expanding. Toys now compete with beauty, tangible gifts compete with experiences, and top shopping days compete with other activities, like football, on Black Friday,” according to Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry advisor for Circana. “Not only do marketers need to break through the distraction and capture consumers’ attention with the best deals, but they also need to convince them of the value they are getting, and then hold to it.”
According to Mastercard’s report, consumers were motivated by deals—and retailers met that demand. Meanwhile, consumer demand for experiences like dining out at restaurants rose this holiday season, with restaurant spending up 6.3 percent compared to last year. Clothing sales rose 3.6 percent, jewelry purchases were up 4 percent, and electronics purchases were up 3.7 percent.
The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, is set to release new data next month which will show sales figures from November and December based on statistics from the U.S. Commerce Department. The report is expected to reveal a broader picture of consumer spending for the 2024 holiday season.