According to the preliminary report from MasterCard SpendingPulse, from November 1 to December 24, retail sales in the USA (excluding Autos) increased by 3.8% year-on-year. Notably, the last five days of the holiday season accounted for 10% of all holiday spending.

This significant increase of 3.8% was primarily driven by retailers heavily promoting sales in anticipation of a competitive holiday season, effectively stimulating consumers' shopping enthusiasm and prompting them to make large purchases before the holidays. Compared to last year's increase of 3.1%, this year's sales growth was stronger and far exceeded MasterCard's prediction of a 3.2% increase made in September.

During this period, major retailers including Walmart (WMT.US), Target (TGT.US), and Amazon (AMZN.US) intensified their promotions to attract customers and placed greater emphasis on delivering value messages. These large retail companies successfully drew a substantial number of consumers for holiday shopping through increased promotions and a focus on cost performance.

MasterCard's chief economist Michelle Meyer pointed out that the performance of the holiday shopping season indicates that consumers possess both the willingness and capacity to spend, but they are more concerned about the value of Commodities, as reflected in the concentrated E-Commerce spending during the peak promotional period.

It is worth noting that the growth rate of online sales has also accelerated, reaching 6.7%, up from last year's 6.3%. Particularly, there was strong demand for Commodities in the Outfits category, as low-cost E-Commerce competitors such as Shein and Temu under PDD Holdings launched attractive Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions, further driving the growth of online sales.

It is understood that MasterCard SpendingPulse measures in-store and online retail sales across all payment methods, but it should be noted that this data does not include Autos sales.