PURCHASE, N.Y.—A new report projects that online shopping played a bigger role in what was under the tree this Christmas than ever before.
As CUToday.info also reported here, PSCU’s Chuck Fagan says there is a strong reason credit unions should be paying attention to the spending data.
Mastercard SpendingPulse found that in 2017 e-Commerce saw the largest share of holiday sales ever—tracking at more than 11%—and growth of 16.3% compared to 2016.
The SpendingPulse e-Commerce report looks at all online holiday shopping since Nov. 1 and covers retail sales across all payment types.
Key findings of the Mastercard SpendingPulse e-Commerce report:
- The electronics and appliances category was a big winner online this year, with an increase of 23.8%. Home improvement was close behind, at 20.7%.
- While department stores and specialty apparel traditionally see the bulk of their customers shopping in store, a migration is underway—particularly during the holidays. Both categories saw big gains online this year, 13.9% and 14.2% respectively.
- Jewelry saw moderate online growth compared to last year (+3.7%); however, last minute in-store sales tend to drive this sector in the final days before Christmas.
“Not only did e-commerce make a major mark on the 2017 holiday season, but online sales have been growing in the 15 to 20% range all year long,” said Sarah Quinlan, senior vice president of market insights, Mastercard. “The always-connected consumer has found a match in e-Commerce, where stores never close and the consumer has an endless amount of stores and goods to choose from.”