US Holiday Spending Beats Forecast to Yield Record Result 

Family exchanging holiday gifts image

US retail sales hit record growth during the recent holiday season, verging on pre-pandemic levels, thanks to lower inflation and a strong job market. 

Consumers spent $994.1 billion over the November-to-December period, a 4% increase compared with 2023, the National Retail Federation (NRF), which bases its numbers on figures from the US Census Bureau, said last week. That total was ahead of the federation’s initial prediction of a 2.5% to 3.5% rise, reaching between $979.5 billion and $989 billion. 

“Consumers came out to spend this holiday season and clearly underscored the solid growth in the US economy,” said NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz. “The spending pace was back to pre-pandemic growth and indicates a good start for the year ahead. While the shorter holiday shopping calendar likely influenced the continued trend of more online shopping, there was also a return to in-person shopping experiences and a focus on early buying. The 2024 figures were driven in part by lower inflation compared with 2023, particularly for goods.” 

Online sales increased 8.6% to $296.7 billion during the holiday months, coming within the organization’s forecast of an 8% to 9% hike to between $295.1 billion and $297.9 billion. Meanwhile, sales for the full year grew 3.6% to a record $5.28 trillion, the NRF noted. 

December sales gained 3.9% year on year to $729.2 billion and were up 0.4% from November, according to US Census Bureau data. In November, sales advanced 0.8% month on month and 4.1% year on year. 

Seven of the nine categories the NRF monitors saw year-on-year growth over the two-month festive period. The clothing and accessories segment — which includes jewelry — rose 2.8%, the NRF reported. Sales remained flat in the building-materials and garden-supplies segment, as well as in the sporting-goods division. 

Image: People exchanging holiday gifts. (Shutterstock)

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US Holiday Spending Beats Forecast to Yield Record Result 

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