Online retail shopping during the holiday season increased by 7.1%, according to Visa observations, though the majority of purchases still take place in brick-and-mortar stores.
Visa revealed the findings of its first Retail Spend Monitor research from Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA), which illustrates robust online shopping growth this holiday season.
According to the report, the overall holiday retail spending in the U.S. increased by 4.8% year over year. The vast majority (77%) of total payment volume in the country was spent in-store versus 23% online. Consumers seem to be more confident and empowered in their holiday shopping this year, as they demonstrated total in-store retail spending growth of 4.1% (versus just 1.6% in 2023). At the same time, online retail shopping grew by 7.1% (versus 10.3% last year).
The electronics sector witnessed solid growth of 4.2% (versus 2.8% last year), while clothing and accessories were even more successful, with their sales rising 5% (vs 2.4% in 2023). Notably, building materials sales increased by 4.7% (versus a disappointing -3.9% last year) as consumers turned their attention back to their home renovations this year.
The holiday retail spending statistics significantly improved not only in the U.S. but also across the globe. Brazil experienced a 12.2% year-over-year rise in spending, while South Africa saw a 7.0% increase. Both regions achieved double-digit growth across all five merchant categories. The U.K. also followed the upward trend with a 2.3% increase, and Australia reported a 7.4% growth in overall spending.
In the background of enhanced spending, there’s also a surge in fraudulent attempts to trick holiday shoppers out of hard-earned money. Visa claims it blocked nearly double the amount of suspected fraud in 2024 versus 2023 during the discount-driven Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.
All the insights were received by the VCA Retail Spend Monitor over seven weeks beginning November 1, leveraging data from a subset of the Visa payments network in the U.S. as well as survey-based estimates for other payment methods. Such tracking tools provide retailers with a comprehensive view of consumer spending patterns and trends, enabling strategic planning and market positioning.
