We heard about supply chain issues, inventory shortages, containers stacked at ports and not enough delivery trucks or store staff, but none of this — nor ominous omicron — kept shoppers down in December, with sales flying at their fastest clip in 17 years to a $556 billion holiday total.
Sales rose 8.5% over 2020 and 11% above 2019, with 32% of consumers making retail purchases online, while 87% did the inverse with their groceries, buying in-store instead.
In the study Digital Economy Payments U.S. Edition January 2022: How U.S. Shoppers Paid During The Holiday Season, a standout finding is how consumers flooded into physical stores despite the latest COVID variant filling the news. Our data finds that 73% of consumers opted for in-store, improving November’s 71%. Just over 12% shopped via mobile in December.
In the same way more consumers flooded to grocery and retail stores, travelers opted for online and mobile, showing how deeply engrained booking behavior is…