We spent more on restaurants and clothing over the holidays, Mastercard says

Retail sales over the holiday season increased 3.8% over last year as people visited restaurants and purchased clothes and jewelry, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks payments.

The data looked at sales from Nov. 1 to Christmas Eve. In-store sales rose 2.9% over 2023, and online sales increased 6.7%. The last five days of the season accounted for 10% of the spending, per The Associated Press. The data does not include the automotive industry. 

Restaurants saw a 6.3% bump, while sales grew 3.6% for apparel, 4% for jewelry and 3.7% for electronics.

Retailers are now watching to see if those numbers are affected by returns. The National Retail Federation anticipates almost 17% of purchases made in this calendar year to be returned.

Most of the growth in clothing sales came from online purchases. In-store sales only grew 0.2%. 

The NRF will release a broader picture next month of how Americans are spending, with two months of statistics from the Commerce Department that show sales in November and December. 

It's been a bleak season for some brick-and-mortar retailers. The Container Store filed for bankruptcy protection last week, and Party City and Big Lots announced plans to shut down. 

Holiday shoppers planned to spend an average of $1,778 this season — an 8% increase over last year’s intentions, according to a survey from consulting firm Deloitte. Most of it was expected to occur on major shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when retailers typically offer their deepest discounts of the year.