US retail sales in the 2024 holiday season grew 4 per cent year on year to a record US$994.1 billion, buoyed by a more favourable consumption sentiment, latest government data showed. 

Sales for the full year were up 3.6 per cent over 2023 to a record US$5.28 trillion, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said, citing US Census Bureau data.

“Consumers came out to spend this holiday season and clearly underscored the solid growth in the US economy,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “The spending pace was back to pre-pandemic growth and indicates a good start for the year ahead.”

He added that while a shorter holiday shopping calendar likely influenced the continued trend of more online shopping, there was also a return to in-person shopping experiences and a focus on early buying. 

The 2024 figures were driven in part by lower inflation compared with 2023, particularly for goods. Kleinhenz added, “Even though consumers are still relatively healthy and there was a notable increase in spending, they remain budget conscious.”

Clothing and clothing accessory stores, which include jewellery shops, saw a 2.8 per cent increase, data further revealed.

The 2024 holiday sales results top the previous record of US$955.6 billion spent during the 2023 holiday season. NRF had forecast that 2024 holiday sales would increase between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent to between US$979.5 billion and US$989 billion.