2023 Holiday Shopping: Inside the Latest Retail Sales (2024)

FAQs

2023 Holiday Shopping: Inside the Latest Retail Sales? ›

Holiday sales across both brick-and-mortar and online channels rose to $964.4 billion in the November through December period, coming largely above the NRF's prior expectation of a rise between 3% and 4%, in the range of $957.3 billion to $966.6 billion.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Census Bureau data released today shows that core retail sales during the 2023 holiday season grew 3.8% over 2022 to a record $964.4 billion, easily meeting the National Retail Federation's forecast despite continued inflation and high interest rates, NRF said.

Despite consumers' continued price sensitivity, US holiday sales rose 3.9% to reach $1.309 trillion in 2023, per EMARKETER's February 2024 forecast. As holiday retail sales trends normalized to pre-pandemic levels, ecommerce led sales growth, increasing 8.8% to reach $248.02 billion, per EMARKETER.

Total nominal Bain-defined retail sales grew 3.8% year over year this holiday season (November and December), close to our forecast of 3.0% growth but below the 10-year average of 5.1%.

“Successful retailers offer consumers products and services when, where and how they want to shop with prices they want to pay.” The 2024 sales forecast compares with 3.6% annual sales growth of $5.1 trillion in 2023.

In 2023, holiday shopping gets more social. Shoppers are shifting their search for the perfect gift to social media platforms. And as they get more socially savvy, they'll want higher-quality content and smoother buying experiences.

In-store Holiday Shopping Statistics

Only 8% of customers plan to shop in store only with 39% majority online and some in store (Tinuiti Holiday Shopping Report, 2021). According to a survey, in both 2021 and 2022, 43% of shoppers in the U.S. planned to go to stores (Source).

Holiday sales for 2023 are expected to increase between 3% and 4% over 2022. NRF holiday spending is defined as the months of November and December.

According to a survey conducted in the second quarter of 2023, Thanksgiving had a popularity rating of 79 percent, followed by Memorial Day and Christmas with 78 percent. Other favorite holidays among Americans, including both national and religious events, are Father's Day, Veterans Day, and Mother's Day.

Are there more sales before or after Christmas? ›

Are Sales After Christmas Worth It? Waiting to buy certain items until after Christmas can save you a substantial amount of money. The best strategy is to plan ahead and have a list of items you wish to buy at discounted prices.

Dec 26 (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales rose 3.1% between Nov. 1 and Dec.

The CPI-U increased 3.4 percent in 2023, largely driven by an increase of 6.2 percent in the shelter index. Food prices increased, while energy prices decreased over the year. Excluding food and energy, price increases came in transportation, recreation, medical care, and apparel.

The role of stores is evolving and still critical to consumer experience. 80% of all shopping still happens in stores. Retail store counts continue to grow with the industry and the broader economy, despite the growing share of ecommerce. In fact, the role of the store is evolving to support buying across all channels.

Mobile POS systems have been gaining popularity in recent years, but in 2023, we can expect them to become a mainstream technology for retail and wholesale businesses. Mobile POS systems allow businesses to process transactions on-the-go, which is particularly useful for pop-up shops, outdoor markets, and events.

Holiday spending is up, another good sign for the economy : NPR. Holiday spending is up, another good sign for the economy Data show consumer spending from November 1 through Christmas Eve rose 3.1% year over year — a figure in line with the decade leading up to the pandemic and another positive sign for the economy.

In 2023 consumers increased their total spending by 5.9% (December 2022 through December 2023). After inflation adjustment the gain was still 3.2%. The increase came despite the Federal Reserve's sharp interest rate increases in 2022 and 2023. Expectations for consumer spending had been low for two reasons.

Holiday sales for 2023 were expected to increase between 3% and 4% over 2022. NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen discussed NRF's Thanksgiving holiday weekend expectations.