2016 Holiday Retail Spending Strongest in Five Years

January 04, 2019 – Holiday spending in 2016 was the strongest in five years. According to the Visa Retail Spending Monitor¹, retail sales less autos, gas and restaurants grew by 4.8 percent through the holiday season of November and December combined, compared to the same period in 2015. Most of the spending growth can be attributed to the robust online sales channel. In addition, consumers opted to shop earlier this holiday season, with remarkable growth in November. Although Black Friday was the sixth largest shopping day in total spending, it topped the list of the biggest retail shopping days of the holiday season.

Source

¹VisaNet data modeled to represent spending on all forms of payment

Disclaimer

The Retail Spending Monitor provides a measure of the estimated historical performance of certain segments of the U.S. economy across payment types. Retail sales (sales by establishments engaged in retailing merchandise) in the context of Retail Spending Monitor is a set of industry segments defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Retail Spending Monitor analyzes data in a manner consistent with this definition for industry segments that are not auto related. Industry segments included in “Holiday Retail Spending” are: furniture and home furniture stores, electronics and appliance stores, building material and garden equipment stores, food and beverage stores, health and personal care stores, clothing and clothing accessories stores, sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores, warehouse and general merchandise stores, department and discount stores, mis¬cellaneous store retailers, and e-commerce retailers.

The Retail Spending Monitor is based on a sample of aggregated, depersonalized Visa transaction data analyzed utilizing a proprietary economic and statistical model and is not reflective of Visa operational and/or financial performance.The Retail Spending Monitor is intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for marketing, legal, technical, tax, financial or other advice. Visa is not responsible for your use of the information contained herein, including errors of any kind, or any assumptions or conclusions you might draw from its use.

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