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According to new data, in-person sales made a comeback this holiday season.
New Mastercard SpendingPulse data viewed by the New York Times showed that in-store sales rose 2.9% this holiday shopping season, from November 1 through December 24.
A Macy’s employee who has worked behind the beauty counter for 32 years told the Times that in-person stores “are still holding on, and we’re still making our numbers because people are shopping.”
Related: How Small Businesses Can Capture $76 Billion Holiday Spend
Shop owners in a Henderson, Nevada, mall told the New York Post that they hit or exceeded their holiday goals this year and that it gets busier year after year.
“We actually passed [our] goal, so that was good,” Bring It Back store owner Brandon Nova told the outlet.
Americans were expected to spend a record-high $989 billion on holiday shopping this year, per the National Retail Federation (NRF), with both online shopping and in-person sales driving the increase.
Shoppers were projected to spend up to $33.4 billion more this holiday season than last year, according to the NRF data. On average, shoppers set aside $902 for holiday expenses this year. The top gifts purchased were clothing and accessories, toys, gift cards, and books.
The NRF survey also showed that while in-person sales grew this year, online shopping continues to be popular—sales were projected to increase between 8% and 9% in 2024, from $295.1 billion to $297.9 billion.
Meanwhile, despite the strong presence of holiday shoppers at retail stores, new data showed 7,300 retail store closings this year, an increase from 4,627 closings last year.
Family Dollar led the way, with 718 closings, followed by CVS and Big Lots, each with over 500 store closings.
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