NEW YORK—Apparel sales in the U.S. bounced back in a big way last month, powered by a surge in online purchases as consumers altered their spending habits.
“We’ve definitely seen a shift in the way consumers are spending throughout the pandemic,” said Linda Kirkpatrick, president of Mastercard North America, told CNBC. “Almost three-quarters of all apparel purchases were made online in February, and this is up from 47% just a year ago.” February, the month of Valentine’s Day, also saw overall spending on jewelry rise almost 6% from the year prior. Meanwhile, online jewelry sales jumped 63%.
The new data is an early sign that suggests more shoppers have adapted to buying clothes and jewelry digitally, and Mastercard expects the trend to continue to take shape even as the economy reopens and more people venture outside the home, CNBC said.
As CUToday.info reported here, PSCU has also released an analysis of how member card spending changed during the first year of the pandemic.