Visa Analysis: U.S. Rings in Holiday Retail Spending Growth

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  Newsroom

• January 02, 2025

• Newsroom

Visa Analysis: U.S. Rings in Holiday Retail Spending Growth

Visa, a global leader in digital payments, today announced its first Retail Spend Monitor from Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA). This year, Visa’s preliminary insights indicate that the overall holiday retail spend in the U.S. increased 4.8% year over year. This is across all forms of payment, including cash and check and is not adjusted for inflation.

"This holiday shopping season, we’re seeing increasing consumer confidence as people sought out in-store experiences – and went online – to purchase gifts and celebrate the holidays with friends and family,” said Wayne Best, chief economist at Visa. “This spending growth demonstrates the adaptability of both consumers and retailers and the overall strength of the economy.”

Unwrapping the highlights:

• Consumers headed back to stores: Out of total holiday retail spend in the U.S., 77% of total payment volume was in store versus 23% online, showing the in-store experience remains important for the consumer. Total retail spend in stores grew at a rate of 4.1% (versus 1.6% last year).
• Online retail shopping continues to grow: Online retail shopping increased by 7.1% (versus 10.3% last year), showing consumers continue to rely on its convenience and ease during the holiday season.
• Consistent electronics sales growth: The electronics sector growth rate increased to 4.2% versus 2.8% last year.
• Clothing and accessories are in season: This holiday season saw a 5.0% rise in sales (versus 2.4% last year) for clothing and accessories.
• Making homes cozier for the holidays: Building materials sales increased by 4.7% (versus a negative 3.9% last year), indicating consumers turned their attention to their homes this year.
• A global spending season: Across the globe, holiday shoppers demonstrated positive activity. Brazil saw a 12.2% year over year increase, while South Africa experienced a 7.0% growth in spending. Both regions enjoyed double-digit growth across all five merchant categories. The U.K. joined the trend with a 2.3% rise, and Australia saw a 7.4% increase in overall spend.
• Fraudsters are doubling down: Earlier this month, Visa reported that it blocked nearly double the amount of suspected fraud in 2024 versus 2023 during Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.

The VCA Retail Spend Monitor reflects the total retail sales activity for the seven-week period starting on November 1 and uses a subset of Visa payments network data in the U.S.¹ coupled with survey-based estimates for other forms of payment.

The VCA Retail Spend Monitor is produced by Visa Consulting & Analytics, a global network of more than 1,500 consultants, economists, data scientists, and product designers working across 75 countries. In the last year, VCA delivered more than 3,000 consulting engagements, nearly double from the year prior, that helped clients realize an estimated $5 billion in incremental revenue as a result.

“With Visa Consulting & Analytics expertise and the power of VisaNet’s data –– representing 234 billion transactions a year, 639 million transactions every day –– our clients make informed business decisions that power their growth,” said Kate Manfred, North America head of advisory services at Visa. “Comprehensive analysis like the Retail Spend Monitor provides insights into consumer spending behaviors and trends that aid retailers in strategic planning and market positioning.”