Mastercard Sees Holiday Spending Reaching Record on 7.4% Growth

U.S. retail sales are poised to reach a record high this holiday season, according to a forecast from Mastercard SpendingPulse, which projects a sizable jump both from last year and from 2019 -- before the pandemic upended consumer behavior.

Sales in the period from Nov. 1 through Christmas Eve are seen rising 7.4% from 2020 and 11.1% from the previous year, according to the study, which didn’t provide a dollar-amount projection. Shoppers are expected to continue relying on e-commerce, with online revenue seen growing 7.6% from 2020 and an astronomical 57% from the previous year.