That’s a Wrap: Retailers Had Strong Holiday Season, CNBC/NRF Say

Retail sales continued to grow in December, completing a strong holiday shopping season, the latest CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor found. Total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were up 0.44 percent seasonally adjusted month over month and up 3.07 percent unadjusted year over year in December, according to the monitor.

In addition, the study found that total retail sales for all of 2023 were up 5.32 percent over 2022.

This is the third month that the Retail Monitor, which was launched in November, has provided data on monthly retail sales. Unlike survey-based numbers collected by the Census Bureau, the Retail Monitor uses actual, anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity and does not need to be revised monthly or annually, its backers say.

December sales were up in six out of nine retail categories on a yearly basis, led by online sales, health and personal care stores and clothing and accessory stores, and up in five categories on a monthly basis.

“Clearly, retailers got it right this holiday season, providing consumers with what they wanted, options on when and where to make their purchases and with prices customers were comfortable paying,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

Click here for more from the monitor.