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 becoming.
Per the study, “Forty-four percent of consumers who made travel-related purchases used their mobile devices to do so, collectively spending $5.2 billion. In comparison, just over one-third used desktops and computers for travel-related transactions.” Additionally, 43% of consumers making travel purchases paid with a credit card.
In all, just 14% of U.S. consumers reported travel-related purchases in December, falling off three points from the previous month. Though travel transaction volume was down in December, consumers “collectively spent $23 billion making such transactions — with the average consumer spending $66 more than they reported in November.”
Payments methods are another big takeaway from the holidays just ended. While credit cards and to an extent digital wallets made a splash in travel purchases, we observed a major uptick in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments, with Venmo leading the way.
Per the study, “28% of U.S. consumers reported making P2P payments last month, with the average consumer sending $199 in payments. Venmo, in particular, experienced a measurable increase in usage: 19% of consumers reported using the app in December, up from 16% the month before.”
Get the study: Digital Economy Payments January 2022 U.S. Edition
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More