US retail sales rose 7.6% during the holiday week. Retail customer experience

According to the Mastercard Spending Pulse report, U.S. retail sales, excluding auto sales, rose 7.6% last holiday season compared to the 2021 holiday season.

“This holiday retail season has looked different than in years past,” Steve Sadow, a senior adviser at Mastercard and former CEO and chairman of Saks Inc., said in a press release following the report. “Retailers were discounting heavily, but consumers were diversifying their holiday spending to accommodate rising prices and an appetite for experiences and holiday gatherings after the pandemic.”

Among the main trends:

• According to preliminary data, sales increased by 10.6% compared to the same period last year. This holiday season, e-commerce accounted for 21.6% of total retail sales, compared to 20.9% in 2021 and 20.6% in 2020.
• Black Friday retains its title as the top-spending day of the 2022 holiday season, up 12% year-on-year, excluding automotive.

“Inflation has changed the way U.S. consumers approach holiday shopping, from searching for the best deals to making compromises that have stretched gift budgets,” Michelle Meyer, chief North America economist at the Mastercard Economic Institute, said in a release.