Record Online Sales Drive 2019 Winter Holiday Retail Results Up 3.4%
December 26, 2019
With a six-days-shorter winter holiday period this year compared to 2018, retailers pushed earlier discount pricing in stores and online, which resulted in record e-commerce sales and a 3.4% increase in overall consumer spending (excluding autos), according to new data from Mastercard.
Online transactions increased nearly 19% from a year ago and accounted for nearly 15% of overall sales for the period from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24.
“E-commerce sales hit a record high this year with more people doing their holiday shopping online,” Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO of Saks, said in a statement. “Due to a later-than-usual Thanksgiving holiday, we saw retailers offering omnichannel sales earlier in the season, meeting consumers’ demand for the best deals across all channels and devices.”
Department stores saw overall sales decline 1.8% and online sales growth of 6.9%, emphasizing the importance of omnichannel offerings. Electronics and appliances were up 4.6%, while the home furniture and furnishings category grew 1.3%.
E-commerce continues to drive retail, accounting for 15.4% of Black Friday (Nov. 28) and 24.5% of Cyber Monday (Dec. 1) consumer spending, respectively.
Top online retailers included Walmart, Amazon and Target — all drivers of packaged-media (including DVD/Blu-ray Disc) sales.
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