Mastercard announced that Christmas sales increased rapidly in 17 years, even as consumers struggled with inflation, product shortages and the impact of the Omicron variant of Covid – 19 in recent weeks.
According to the Mastercard SpendingPulse measure, which tracks various types of payments, whether in cash or by cards, Christmas sales had increased by 8.5% over the previous year . Mastercard SpendingPulse expected an increase of 8.8%.
The measurement of the payment method was carried out from November 1 to 24 December, results were driven by purchases of clothing and jewelry . Christmas sales increased by 10. 7% compared to the period on vacation prior to the pandemic.
From According to the results, the clothes went up a 47%, the jewelry a 32% and electronics a 16% . Online sales increased by 11% over the previous year and a 61% with respect to 2019. Department stores registered an increase of 21% compared to 2020.
After the success of Ómicron, some consumers stayed home and switched their spending to e-commerce, but sales remained strong.
“I feel great about how the season unfolded,” said Steve Sadove, Senior Advisor to Mastercard and former CEO of Saks Inc. “When people feel a little uncomfortable, you will see some online recovery and a bit of slowdown in store performance ”.
The information will be released more widely next month, when the National Retail Federation presents its combined results for two months in mid-January.
Results will be based on an analysis of November and December sales figures from the US Department of Commerce. Analysts will also take into account the financial results of the fourth quarter of different retailers that are scheduled to be published in February.
According to FOX, analysts expected a strong Christmas season, driven by advance purchases that started in October , mainly because they were driven by fears of product shortages throughout the country.
The National Federation Retail Sales reported that holiday sales were on track to beat their already record-breaking forecasts of an 8.5% increase to 04. 5% compared to the period of the previous year.
Christmas sales increased by 8.2% in 2020 when shoppers, locked in during the early part of the pandemic, splurged on pajamas and apparel for e l home, mainly online.
The group expects online sales and other sales outside the store, which are included in the total, to increase by 11% and a 15%. The numbers exclude car dealerships, gas stations, and restaurants. Holiday sales have averaged 4.4% gains over the past five years, according to the National Retail Federation.
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