Sales for US retailers have increased by about 4 percent so far this holiday season as Americans balanced tighter budgets with a desire to upgrade gadgets and refresh wardrobes, according to preliminary figures released by Visa and Mastercard on Tuesday.
Shoppers were more deliberate with their purchases, often using artificial intelligence tools to discover and compare prices so that they could stretch discretionary budgets, Visa’s chief economist, Wayne Best, said in a statement. Michelle Meyer, chief economist at Mastercard Economics Institute, added that consumers shopped early and leaned on promotions to get the best deals.
Retailers rolled out early promotions to lock in sales amid muted expectations heading into the holiday season due to weak consumer confidence and tariff-fuelled inflation. Yet sales data from Cyber Week — the five-day stretch including Thanksgiving and Black Friday – showed consumers largely shrugged off economic worries.
Tuesday’s figures , drawn from billions of transactions across Visa and Mastercard’s networks, suggested that spending resilience carried into December.
Visa reported total US retail spending, excluding autos, gasoline and restaurants, rose 4.2 percent in the Nov. 1 to Dec. 21 period, slightly below its October forecast of 4.6 percent growth for the full two‑month period.
Mastercard, which included sales at retail and food service establishments in its data, said sales climbed 3.9 percent year on year during the same period, topping its prior forecast of 3.6 percent. The sets of figures from Visa and Mastercard were not adjusted for inflation.
Both companies noted that early promotions and the convenience of shopping from home helped lift online sales, which outpaced growth at brick‑and‑mortar stores. Still, Visa said physical outlets remained dominant, accounting for 73 percent of transactions compared with 27 percent online.
Sales of electronics like TVs and smartphones led spending, rising 5.8 percent in Visa’s data, followed by clothing and accessories at 5.3 percent. Mastercard said seasonal deals and colder weather encouraged wardrobe refreshes, while jewelry also drew more buyers this year.
By Siddharth Cavale and Anuja Bharat Mistry; Editor: Matthew Lewis
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