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Holiday sales grew 3.4 percent over 2018 levels, according to new data from Mastercard SpendingPulse reported by the Chicago Tribune.
Notably, e-commerce sales grew by 18.8 percent, “marking the continuing change in how people shop,” according to the article.
Sales of furniture and home furnishings grew 1.3 percent, according to the data. Sales of electronics and appliances grew 4.6 percent, the report notes.
The rise in spending takes place as certain economic indicators rise. The U.S. economy grew by 2.1 percent in the third quarter of 2019, and employers added more than 266,000 jobs in November, pushing unemployment to 3.5 percent.
Mastercard SpendingPulse measured sales from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 using Mastercard’s network of payment systems.
In November, the National Retail Federation estimated 165 million shoppers would spend during the 2019 Thanksgiving holiday.
