Christmas Sales were up 7.6% in 2022 but they were outpaced 8.5% by inflation

NEW YORK (AP) — Holiday sales rose this year as American spending remained resilient during the critical shopping season despite surging prices on everything from food to rent, according to one measure.

The Holiday sales rose 7.6%, a slower rate than the 8.5% rise from the previous year when shoppers began to spend the money that they had saved in the early part of pandemic. Mastercard SpendingPulse tracks all types of payments, including cash, debit cards and credit cards.

Mastercard SpendingPulse was expecting a 7.1% increase. Monday’s data does not include the automotive industry. It is also not adjusted for inflation. However, it has remained painfully high.

U.S. sales between November 1 and December 24, which is crucial for retailers, were fuelled by spending on clothing and at restaurants.

Clothing sales rose 4.4% by category while jewelry and electronics fell 5%. Online sales rose 10.6% compared to a year ago, while in-person spending increased 6.8%. The modest increase in sales at department stores was 1% over 2021.

“This holiday retail season looked different than years past,” Steve Sadove was the former chairman and CEO of Saks and is now a senior advisor at Mastercard. “Retailers discounted heavily, but consumers diversified their holiday spending to accommodate rising prices and an appetite for experiences and festive gatherings post-pandemic.”

Some of the rise was due to higher prices.

The U.S.’s consumer spending account for almost 70% of its economic activity. Americans have been resilient even though inflation spiked 18 months ago. Cracks have begun to show, however, as higher prices for basic necessities take up an increasingly large share of everyone’s take-home pay.

Inflation has retreated from the four-decade high it reached this summer, but it’s still sapping the spending power of consumers. Prices