New report shows holiday sales grew 4% to $994.1 billion
by January 17, 2025 11:21 am 66 views

The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that November and December spending totaled $994.1 billion, up 4% over the same period in 2023. Spending came in ahead of the trade group’s estimates, which ranged between 2.5% and 3.5% year-over-year gains.
NRF said retail sales for the full year increased 3.5% over 2023 to a record $5.28 trillion. U.S. Census Bureau sales figures exclude automobiles, gasoline, and restaurant sales, and are referred to as “core” retail sales.
“Consumers came out to spend this holiday season and clearly underscored the solid growth in the U.S. economy,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “The spending pace was back to pre-pandemic growth and indicates a good start for the year ahead. While the shorter holiday shopping calendar likely influenced the continued trend of more online shopping, there was also a return to in-person shopping experiences and a focus on early buying. The 2024 figures were driven in part by lower inflation compared with 2023, particularly for goods. Even though consumers are still relatively healthy and there was a notable increase in spending, they remain budget conscious.”
For December, core retail sales increased 0.4% from November and were up 4.2% year over year. Sales were up 0.3% month over month in November and up 3.9% year over year. The trade group said the late timing of Thanksgiving in 2024 shifted sales on Thanksgiving Sunday and Cyber Monday from November into December, affecting results for both months.
The past year “was marked in large measure by the impressive resiliency of the consumer and a sturdy labor market,” with consumer spending supported by low unemployment and wage gains that outpaced inflation even as employers slowed hiring, Kleinhenz said.
The Census Bureau also reported that overall retail sales in December were up 0.4% month over month and up 3.9% from a year ago. A particularly strong segment in the recent holiday season includes online sales which totaled $296.7 billion, up 8.6%, and on par with the trade group’s estimates. NRF found holiday sales increased in seven of the nine categories it tracks.
Following are the November and December retail segment year-over-year results.
• Online and other non-store sales, up 8.6%
• Furniture and home furnishings sales, up 5.6%
• Electronics and appliance sales, up 3.7%
• Health and personal care sales, up 3%
• Clothing and clothing accessory sales, up 2.8%
• General merchandise sales, up 2.4%
• Grocery and beverage sales, up 2.1%
• Building materials and garden supply sales, unchanged
• Sporting goods sales, unchanged