Unwrapping the retail shopping season

December 24, 2024 at 06:01 AM EST

(BPT) - With all the talk about the economy lately, how did the 2024 holiday shopping season shake out? Were people buying? If so, how did their spending compare to past years? What and where were they buying?

Visa dove into some analysis of the holiday season, via the Visa Retail Spend Monitor, from Visa Consulting & Analytics. The Retail Spend Monitor looks at total retail sales activity across all forms of payments, not just Visa. It uses a subset of Visa payments network data, which processes a staggering 234 billion transactions per year - that's 639 million each day.

It found that, overall, during the seven-week period starting on November 1, retail spending in the U.S. increased by 4.8% from last year.

"This holiday shopping season, we're seeing strong consumer confidence as people sought out in-store experiences - and went online - to purchase gifts and celebrate the holidays with friends and family. This spending growth demonstrates the adaptability of both consumers and retailers and the overall strength of the economy," said Wayne Best, chief economist at Visa.

Here are some highlights of what the analysis found.

We're going back to the mall... Out of total retail spend in the U.S., 77% was in store versus 23% online. This led total retail spend in stores to grow at a healthy rate of 4.1% (vs 1.6% last year).

...but we still love the convenience of online shopping. It's so easy to buy what you need from the comfort of your home or office with just a few clicks. Online shopping increased by 7.1%, versus 10.3% last year. It's not just about convenience, though. Shoppers like how easy it is to compare prices online and look for the best deals.

People still love their electronics... This sector of the retail market had a 4.2% growth rate vs. 2.8% last year. It was driven by new products, holiday deals and home entertainment technology.

…and always love their clothing and accessories. Did you unwrap a festive holiday sweater? You're not alone. Clothes saw a 5% rise in sales, versus 2.4% last year.

We were nesting, too. Sales of building materials increased by 4.7%, versus a negative 3.9% last year. It means we were making our homes cozy for the holidays.

The whole world was shopping! Across the globe, holiday shoppers were spending. Brazil saw a 12.2% increase, while South Africa experienced 7.0% growth. Both regions enjoyed double-digit growth across all five merchant categories. The U.K. joined the festive cheer with a 2.3% rise, and Australia saw a 7.4% bump in overall spend.

Grinchy fraudsters were still at it. Fraudsters doubled down this year, with Visa reporting that it blocked nearly double the amount of suspected fraud this year versus 2023 during the weekend of Black Friday through Cyber Monday.

What does it all mean? It means people were spending with confidence, and their loved ones got some holiday cheer.

Visa Consulting & Analytics global network of more than 1,500 consultants, economists, data scientists and product designers work across 75 countries, combining payments consulting expertise with the extensive data capabilities of VisaNet. This powerful synergy delivers actionable insights and tailored recommendations to guide informed business decisions and power business growth.

To learn more about how Visa Consulting & Analytics can help clients turn data and insights into actionable business insights, visit https://corporate.visa.com/en/services/visa-consulting-analytics.html.

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Unwrapping the retail shopping season

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