(Reuters) – US retail sales were up 3% during this year’s extended Christmas shopping season from Oct. 11 to Dec. 24, a report from Mastercard Inc said on Saturday, fueled by a pandemic-driven shift to online shopping.
According to Mastercard SpendingPulse’s report, e-commerce sales in the US are up 49% during this year’s Christmas shopping season, underscoring the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in transforming customer buying habits.
Holiday e-commerce sales made up 19.7% of total retail sales this year, the data found, noting that options such as online buying and in-store pickup, contactless technologies were crucial for retailers.
The Christmas shopping season may account for the majority of some retailers’ annual sales, but the health crisis meant that several retailers, including Walmart Inc and Target Corp, dealing with capacity issues in certain stores, released their holiday promotions early.
Ecommerce giant Amazon.com Inc has also pushed its annual summer promotion event back to October, marking a longer-than-ever holiday season for retailers losing several weeks of revenue during lockdowns earlier this year.
“This was a healthier holiday season than many predicted,” Mastercard senior adviser Steve Sadove told Reuters in an interview.
Sadove believes the digital trend will continue to grow in 2021, with smaller retailers also embracing new technology to provide customers with new ways to shop.
People who stay at home longer as a result of a comprehensive policy of working from home and distance learning have fueled the demand for home accessories and home improvement products, with retail sales in the home furnishings and furniture category up 16.2%, according to the report.
Electronics and appliances were also up 6% during the period, as a reduction in dining, travel and leisure spend encouraged shoppers to make other purchases.
Sales of clothing and jewelry were down overall, but e-commerce sales were up 15.7% and 44.6%.
The SpendingPulse report tracks spend by combining sales activity in Mastercard’s payment network with estimates of cash and other payment methods, but excludes auto sales.
Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam, Nivedita Balu and Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Pravin Char and Alexandra Hudson