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More people ate at restaurants and shopped for clothes and jewelry, with a seasonal report showing a 3.8% increase in retail sales compared to last year.
The report, released by Mastercard, showed that American consumers continued to show resilience and increased spending as the Federal Reserve’s interest rates dropped and inflation decreased across various sectors, Axios reported.
Buying conditions improved this year for durables, and shoppers expect more improvements for 2025.
Mastercard’s figures exceeded the spending and shopping forecast by the National Retail Federation, which projected total holiday sales would rise between 2.5% and 3.5% for the holiday season.
Between November 1 and December 24 consumers bought more retail merchandise in-store, wifh figures climbing by 2.9% compared to 2023, and online sales rising by 6.7%, the report added.
Consumers also spent more money dining out: sales rose by 6.3% in restaurants and clothes shopping increased 3.6% compared to last year.
Retail department stores underperformed with a 1.6% increase despite higher foot traffic.
A November survey found that consumer confidence in the country hit a 16-month-high.
