- End-of-year buyers in the United States spent 3% more than in the previous year, led by spikes in online spending on furniture and home renovations, says Mastercard.
- “They bought from home to buy a home, leading to record e-commerce growth,” Steve Sadove, a senior consultant at Mastercard, said in a statement.
- Online sales in the 75 days before Christmas increased 49% over the same period last year, the company said.
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
End-of-year buyers in the U.S. spent 3% more than in the previous year, led by spikes in online spending on furniture and renovation.
As expected, online retail has grown due to personal delay, according to data released on Saturday by Mastercard.
The company said online sales 75 days before Christmas increased by 49% over the same period last year.
The biggest leap in the past year came in home remodeling, continuing a one-year trend. As people stayed at home during the pandemic, they spent more on making the environment comfortable. Online home improvement sales have increased by about 80%.
“American consumers have turned the holiday season upside down, redefining ‘home for the holidays’ exclusively for 2020. They bought from home to home, leading to record e-commerce growth,” said Steve Sadove, senior consultant to Mastercard in a statement.
End-of-year buyers seemed to be focused on nesting, as online sales of furniture and furniture increased 31%, and electronics and home appliances, 6%.
An increase in general holiday spending – even just 3% – is likely to be met with applause from retailers, many of whom have had a difficult year attracting customers.
“And consumers bought earlier than ever. Throughout our expansion of the 75-day shopping season, sales increased 3.0%, a testament to the holiday season and the strength of retailers and consumers,” said Sadove in an announcement.
The Christmas shopping season is marked differently by some companies, but for many, it starts the day after Thanksgiving, the so-called
Black Friday
. Pedestrian traffic that day in US stores fell 52%, while online sales rose 22%, according to Sensormatic Solutions. Mastercard said on Saturday that sales on that day fell 16% year on year.
But “Thanksgiving weekend until
Cyber Monday
it remained an important moment for shoppers, with Black Friday being the day of highest spending in the 2020 holiday season, “Mastercard said in a statement.
In-store retail sales of items that are generally staple holiday items have dropped, as expected. Personal clothing sales fell 19%, while luxury items fell 21%, according to Mastercard.
Sales of personal jewelry fell 4%, while online sales increased 45%, according to Mastercard.
Overall, face-to-face purchases at department stores fell 10%, but increased about 3% online.
“Buy online, pick up at the store and technologies like contactless technology have been key for retailers this season,” said Mastercard.
About 38% of American consumers planned to spend less during this holiday season, according to a study by Deloitte.