Holiday sales soared, with e-commerce notching huge gains

Holiday retail sales jumped 11% with respect to previous year figures, in the period from November 1st to December 24th, thanks to a renewed trust of American consumers during the holiday season, despite the huge inflation rise of prices.

 

Mastercard data, reported in the Mastercard Spending Pulse, registered an 8.5% increase in retail sales during the holidays, with respect to the previous years. In store sales increased by 8.1%, while e-commerce rose by 11%. With respect to 2019, orders online jumped 61%.

 

Over the total of sales, 20.9% of transactions was realized on online platforms, increased from the 2019 figure of 14.9%, thus showing how the pandemic has inevitably accelerated the shift towards online shopping of American consumers, especially during the holiday season.

 

Despite initial fears regarding deliveries and delays, most of the gifts arrived on time, thanks to the American consumers’ early ordering to avoid such occurrences.

 

In general, despite the long period considered in the report, Mastercard highlights how most of the transaction happened during the Thanksgiving long weekend, thanks to the convenient offers displayed on Black Friday, with a 14% increase with respect to 2020.