Retail and Food Services Sales Grow 3.9% YOY in December

Retail and food services sales in the United States grew in December.

They increased 0.4% compared with November and 3.9% compared with December 2023, according to advance estimates released Thursday (Jan. 16) by the Census Bureau.

December’s gains followed November’s month-over-month gain of 0.8% and year-over-year gain of 4.1%.

Compared to November, 11 of the 14 categories of businesses included in the report saw sales gains in December.

Those making the biggest gains were miscellaneous store retailers, up 4.3%; sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores, up 2.6%; and furniture and home furnishings stores, up 2.3%.

Nonstore retailers — which include eCommerce merchants and other retailers operating outside of fixed point-of-sale locations — saw a gain of 0.2% in December compared with November.

The three categories that saw month-over-month declines were building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers, down 2%; food services and drinking places, down 0.3%; and health and personal care stores, down 0.2%.

Total sales for the full year of 2024 were up 3% from 2023, according to the Census Bureau’s advance estimates.

Commenting on the Census Bureau data, National Retail Federation (NRF) Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a Thursday press release that the figures for core retail sales during the holiday season “clearly underscored the solid growth in the U.S. economy.”

Holiday season core retail sales — which the NRF calculated based on Census Bureau data for Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, excluding automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants — were up 4% compared with 2023, the organization said the release.

“The spending pace was back to pre-pandemic growth and indicates a good start for the year ahead,” Kleinhenz said in the release.

Target announced Thursday that it raised its sales guidance after seeing record post-Thanksgiving sales. The retailer said it now anticipates an approximately 1.5% increase in fourth-quarter comparable sales after earlier projecting flat growth.

“Compared with its third-quarter sales trends, the company saw a meaningful acceleration in discretionary categories during the holiday timeframe, most notably in apparel and toys, and saw continued strength in beauty and frequency categories,” Target said in a press release.

Mastercard said Dec. 26 that the holiday shopping season’s total retail sales from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 rose 3.8%, with online shopping up 6.7%.

Visa said Dec. 23 that it saw a 4.8% uptick in spending during the holiday shopping season, with total retail spending in stores up 4.1% and online retail shopping up 7.1%.

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