PURCHASE, N.Y.—U.S. retail sales saw solid gains this holiday season, according to a new study.
MasterCard’s SpendingPulse report—which looks at U.S. retail sales trends across cards, cash and checks—shows that retail sales excluding auto and gas grew 7.9% during the traditional Black Friday to Christmas Eve shopping season. The biggest winners this season were eCommerce and furniture, with double-digit growth, while electronics and men’s apparel lagged well behind.
For certain retailers, eCommerce sales were a big gift, MasterCard explained. eCommerce grew roughly 20% compared to last year.
“This is not a total surprise, as 70% of U.S. consumers report doing more research online than before, according to our recent Omnishopper Guide. Transitioning from research to a sale makes sense, if the proper customer experience and incentive – free or fast shipping, for instance – is in place,” the company stated.
Overall, apparel saw high single-digit growth during the Black Friday to Christmas Eve window, whereas women’s apparel sales rose double-digits. Men’s apparel, on the other hand, declined. The delayed cold weather pushed back apparel buying this fall, so there was pent-up demand that played out following Black Friday, MasterCard said.
Overall retail sales, excluding auto and gas, across all card and payment types, grew 4.6% from November through December compared to last year. Including gas, growth was just 2.7%, reflecting the lower gas prices and reinforcing the fact that consumers are spending the money they’re saving at the pump.
“After a slow start, I’m very happy to see that the holiday season was hot for retailers,” said Sarah Quinlan, SVP, market insights for MasterCard Advisors. “We saw some very promising trends. The double-digit growth in furniture sales, for instance, shows that consumers are willing and able to splurge on big-ticket items. eCommerce’s rise is a solid indication of an empowered and savvy shopper. We’ll be watching to see if this behavior continues into 2016.”