Us retail sales (Mastercard) So Mastercard released their holiday season sales which is measured from Nov 1st to Dec 24th of 2023. Sales (ex auto) grew by 3.1% compared to last years holiday season. The media pumped up the storyline to make it appear everything is just fine. What they don't tell you is that inflation increased by ~ 3.4% compared to last year so in terms of "real" sales, it actually shrank by 0.3%.
| Mastercard SpendingPulse™
U.S. Holiday Retail Sales
November 1 – December 24, 2023 vs. 2022 |
| | 2023 vs. 2022 |
| Total retail (ex. auto) | +3.1% |
| E-commerce sales | +6.3% |
| In-store | +2.2% |
| Apparel | +2.4% |
| Electronics | -0.4% |
| Grocery | +2.1% |
| Jewelry | -2.0% |
| Restaurants | +7.8% |
| Source: Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment and is not adjusted for inflation |