US holiday spending remains resilient, with online sales up 8.2% in December

It is learned that despite inflation and high interest rates, Americans are still spending lavishly during the holiday season. Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau (USCB) on Wednesday showed that U.S. retail sales in the 2023 holiday season increased by 3.8% year-on-year to a record US$964.4 billion, exceeding the National Retail Federation's (NRF) previous forecast of a 3% to 4% increase (that is, US$957.3 billion to US$966.6 billion).

Total U.S. retail sales for the full year 2023 increased by 3.6% year-on-year to a record high of $5.13 trillion. In addition, the data also showed that U.S. retail sales in December 2023 increased by 0.6% year-on-year, higher than the 0.3% increase in November and exceeding the 0.4% increase estimated by Dow Jones & Company.

It is worth noting that online shopping boosted retail sales in December. In December 2023, total online retail sales in the United States increased by 8.2% year-on-year to US$276.8 billion.

According to NRF data, Americans' demand for beauty, clothing, and electronics products continues to remain strong. In December, sales at health and personal care stores increased by 9% year-on-year, sales at electronics and home appliance stores increased by 9.3% year-on-year, sales at clothing and accessories stores increased by 3% year-on-year, and sales at sporting goods stores increased slightly by 0.3%.

Driven by strong sales, apparel and footwear retailers such as Lululemon, Abercrombie & Fitch and Crocs have raised their full-year earnings guidance.

While retail sales were broadly strong in December, there were a few areas of weakness. Sales at furniture and home furnishings stores fell 6%, while sales at building materials and garden supply stores fell 3.9%.

Strong retail sales data for the holiday season highlighted new signs of economic growth at the end of 2023 and the resilience of American consumption as we enter 2023.

Editor ✎ Nicole/

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