Americans focused on nesting during the coronavirus pandemic help lift US holiday shopping sales

woman paying on phone online shopping
  • Holiday shoppers in the US spent 3% more than the previous year, led by online spending spikes on furniture and home improvement, says Mastercard.
  • "They shopped from home for the home, leading to record e-commerce growth," Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard, said in a statement. 
  • Online sales in the 75 days prior to Christmas jumped 49% from the same year-earlier period, the company said. 
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Holiday shoppers in the US spent 3% more than the previous year, led by online spending spikes on furniture and home improvement.

As might be expected, online retail boomed as in-person lagged, according to data released Saturday by Mastercard. 

The company said online sales in the 75 days before Christmas jumped 49% from the same year-earlier period. 

The biggest bump over last year came in home improvement, continuing a yearlong trend. As people stayed home during the pandemic, they spent more on making their surroundings comfortable. Online home improvement sales soared about 80%.

"American consumers turned the holiday season on its head, redefining 'home for the holidays' in a uniquely 2020 way. They shopped from home for the home, leading to record e-commerce growth," Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard, said in a statement. 

Holiday shoppers seemed to be focused on nesting, as online furniture and furnishing sales climbed 31%, and electronics and appliances climbed 6%. 

A rise in overall holiday spending - even by just 3% - will likely be met with cheers from retailers, many of which have had a difficult year bringing customers in.

"And, consumers shopped earlier than ever before. Across our expanded 75-day holiday shopping season, sales were up 3.0%, a testament to the holiday season and strength of retailers and consumers alike," said Sadove in a statement. 

The holiday shopping season is marked off differently by some firms, but for many, it begins on the day after Thanksgiving, so-called Black Friday. Foot traffic on that day in US stores had fallen 52%, while online sales climbed 22%, according to Sensormatic Solutions. Mastercard said on Saturday that sales that day fell 16% year over year. 

But "Thanksgiving weekend through Cyber Monday remained a key time for shoppers, with Black Friday being the top spending day of the 2020 holiday season," Mastercard said in a statement. 

In-store retail sales for items that are usually holiday staples slipped, as expected. In-person clothing sales dropped 19%, while luxury items dropped 21%, according to Mastercard.

In-person jewelry sales slipped 4%, while online sales rose 45%, according to Mastercard. 

Overall, in-person department store shopping fell 10%, but rose about 3% online. 

"Buy online, pick up in-store as well as technologies like contactless were key for retailers this season," said Mastercard. 

About 38% of US shoppers had planned to spend less this holiday season, according to a study from Deloitte.

Read the original article on Business Insider


Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/37RAffn
Americans focused on nesting during the coronavirus pandemic help lift US holiday shopping sales Americans focused on nesting during the coronavirus pandemic help lift US holiday shopping sales Reviewed by mimisabreena on Sunday, December 27, 2020 Rating: 5

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