Sellers must read! The latest consumer trends for the 2022 US holiday season are announced!

It is learned that according to the forecast of Mastercard SpendingPulse™, total retail sales in the United States will increase by 7.1% year-on-year during the 2022 holiday shopping season. Although inflation continues to be high, due to sufficient savings and supply chain issues, Americans will still stock up on items to ensure that they can give gifts to their loved ones or friends during the holidays. Therefore, for retailers, this year's holiday season is still positive.

Regarding the 2022 holiday shopping season, Mastercard also pointed out several important trends worth paying attention to:

The holiday shopping season will be longer. As consumers seek early deals, the holiday shopping season is expected to be moved forward to October. Previously, the holiday shopping season was expected to start on November 1 and last until December 24. In addition, retailers will have strong gains on Black Friday and Thanksgiving.

Consumers will use their savings to purchase items. With inflation continuing to rise, consumers are eager to get more offers, from deals and discounts to price monitoring and price matching, and consumers want to use their existing savings to purchase more items. It is worth noting that online channels are still the best and most convenient way for consumers to check the price of items.

In-store sales have grown significantly. According to forecasts, in-store sales in the United States will increase by 7.9% year-on-year during the 2022 holiday shopping season. The growth rate will be higher than e-commerce sales (4.2% year-on-year). The reason is that as people return to physical stores, physical stores will attract consumers to shop by creating a festive atmosphere. It is understood that from January to August 2022, in-store consumption accounted for more than four-fifths of US retail sales.

Consumers focus on fashion categories. As people return to work and social activities, fashion categories have attracted much attention. According to Mastercard SpendingPulse™, sales in the apparel industry will increase by 4.6% year-on-year during the 2022 holiday shopping season, and sales in the luxury goods industry will increase by 4.4% year-on-year. These two industries will be the areas that consumers pay the most attention to during this year's peak season. In addition, electronics (3.5%) and jewelry (2.2%) will also be popular among Americans.

Steve Sadove, senior advisor at Mastercard, said: As supply chain issues ease and consumer purchasing behavior changes, retailers are facing more inventory, so there will be more promotions during the 2022 holiday shopping season than in 2021. Retailers who can clear inventory and accurately predict inventory needs during this holiday shopping season are most likely to succeed.

Editor ✎ Nicole/

Disclaimer: This article is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission.