A report by Mastercard SpendingPulseTM – which provides insights into overall retail spending trends across all payment types, including cash and cheque – released yesterday, found that holiday sales in the US this year increased by 5.1 per cent to more than US$ 850 billion. The organisation said this was the strongest growth in the last six years; with online shopping also seeing large gains -- up 19.1 per cent compared to 2017.

“From shopping aisles to online carts, consumer confidence translated into holiday cheer for retail,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and Chairman of Saks Incorporated. “By combining the right inventory with the right mix of online versus in-store, many retailers were able to give consumers what they wanted via the right shopping channels.”

The Mastercard SpendingPulseTM report covers holiday shopping from November 1 through to December 24.

While key findings of the report indicate that despite weather challenges, this was a winning holiday season for retail overall; Mastercard said “the story was different category by category”.

All apparel had a strong season with an increase of 7.9 per cent as compared to 2017 – this was the best growth rate for the sector since 2010. “The category followed through on a strong momentum that started during the back-to-school season and accelerated through fall right up to Christmas,” Mastercard said.

Spending on “home improvement” continued to be at the forefront across the US – a trend which had started before the onset of the holiday season. Spending on this sector was up 9.0 per cent, even as it managed to “power through to a strong finish”, remarked Mastercard.

Department stores recorded a 1.3 per cent decline compared to the previous year, this season. “This follows two years with growth below 2 per cent, some of which can be attributed to store closings,” the report found. “However, the online sales growth for department stores indicated a more positive story, with growth of 10.2 per cent.”

While electronics and appliances were down 0.7 per cent; the home furniture and furnishings category rose 2.3 per cent.

“Poor weather did pose an issue during some primetime shopping periods,” the report noted. “This included cold weather on Black Friday morning on the East Coast and wet weather conditions the weekend of December 15-16, on both the East and West coasts. Conditions were also less than ideal on Friday, December 21, in the East, with storms that impacted the final run of the season.”