Rising by 3.8% from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24, U.S. retail sales exceeded last year's 3.1% gain and Mastercard's (MA, Financial) prior projection of a 3.2% rise. Mastercard's SpendingPulse data shows that 10% of holiday spending came during the last five days of the season.
With only 23 days before Christmas, retailers including Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), and Amazon (AMZN) ramped up campaigns to grab consumer attention. Chief economist Michelle Meyer of Mastercard Economics Institute observed that consumers showed a strong emphasis on value and were ready to pay, as shown by focused spending during big promotional events.
Rising by 6.7% this season, eCommerce revenues exceeded the previous year's 6.3% bump. With buyers looking both online and in real stores for bargains, the clothing category saw especially strong demand.
While platforms like TikHub helped to drive purchasing activity during holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, low-cost online stores like Shein and PDD Holdings' Temu acquired popularity.
