Neither supply chain issues nor the threat of Omicron could stop consumers from spending this holiday season.
How much spending? According to the Mastercard SpendingPulse, U.S. consumers spent 8.5 percent more this holiday season than they did last year.
This ranks as the biggest year-over-year holiday spending increase that Mastercard has seen in 17 years.
The Mastercard SpendingPulse charts spending both online and in-store from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24. The report fround that total retail sales this holiday season were 10.7 percent higher than during the same period in 2019. Sales at physical stores rose 2.4 percent when compared with 2019 while online sales were an impressive 61.4 percent higher than two years ago.
E-commerce continues to rise. The SpendingPulse survey found that e-commerce sales rose 11 percent from 2020 to 2021, while making up about 21 percent of total retail spending. In 2019, online sales accounted for just 14.6 percent of total retail sales during the holiday season.
Certain retail categories performed better than others this holiday season. Apparel sales rose 47.3 percent when compared with 2020, while jewelry sales increased by 32 percent.
