Key Takeaways:
– The 2024 holiday shopping season witnessed a near-record turnout with 197 million shoppers.
– US consumers are more deliberate with their shopping due to inflation worries.
– There’s increased in-store shopping in contrast to the previous year.
– Prospective tariffs loom as a potential threat to consumer spending power.
Buzzing Holiday Shopping Season
There’s been a buzzing turnout this Thanksgiving weekend. About 197 million shoppers, nearly 59% of the US population, took to stores and online platforms during the five crucial shopping days, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Not a Record, But Closer!
While these numbers didn’t surpass the record-levels from 2023, they were the second highest to date. This robust turnout reflects a return to normality as consumers re-embrace the joy of shopping after pandemic-scarred years.
Changes in Shopping Territory
An interesting shift occurred in 2024 wherein 126 million people opted for in-store shopping, slightly exceeding the count of 124.3 million who chose to shop online. In 2023, the scales were tipped in favor of online shopping.
Inflation Woes Influence Shopping Approach
Consumers seem to be making more thoughtful and deliberate buying decisions, credited largely to inflation jitters. As a silver lining, wages have started to rise at a faster pace than inflation, improving the overall shopping landscape.
Dangling Tariff Sword
A potential hurdle looming ahead is the threat of tariffs being discussed by President-elect Donald Trump, projected to slash American’s spending power by a whopping $78 billion per year. Despite this cloudy forecast, consumers haven’t yet adjusted their spending patterns.
However, this tariff threat could become a real dampener as the shopping season progresses. After all, consumers are well-aware of tariff impact and are quite sensitive to pricing dynamics.
Holiday Spending and Growth Expectations
Despite these concerns, the National Retail Federation (NRF) anticipates a growth of 2.5 to 3.5% in holiday spending over the prior year. This could bring the total holiday spending over the festive two-month period to a high of $989 billion.
Additional data also points towards encouraging holiday sales. Adobe Analytics revealed that Cyber Monday sales hit $13.3 billion, marking a rise of 7.3% over the last year and outperforming Adobe’s own projections.
When looking at comprehensive sales over these five crucial shopping days, the figure stands at $41.1 billion, reflecting a surge of 8.2%.
Wrapping It Up
To sum up, the 2024 US holiday shopping season has indeed drawn an encouraging turnout. While inflation and the potential impact of tariffs remain concerns, the rising wages are an optimistic development. Amidst these economic factors, one thing is evident – the holiday shopping season is alive and well, and consumers are in a good place, as mentioned by NRF President Matthew Shay.