Restaurants Lead 8.1% Rise in Retail Sales in November

Consumers spent more in the restaurant, fuel and convenience, and grocery sectors in November.

Those sectors were the big winners during a month in which U.S. retail sales — excluding automotive — rose 8.1% year over year, according to a press release about the latest Mastercard SpendingPulse, a report that measures both in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment.

Outpacing the overall growth in sales were restaurants at 14.6% growth, fuel and convenience up 12.1%, grocery up 8.3%, apparel up 4.7% and department stores up 0.9%, according to the report.

Four sectors saw a year-over-year drop in sales, with furniture and furnishings down 3.9%, jewelry down 3.9%, electronics down 3.1% and luxury (excluding jewelry) down 3.1%, the report said.

“The consumer is navigating a number of issues today, impacting how they spend across both essential and discretionary purchases,” Mastercard Senior Advisor Steve Sadove said in the release. “That’s also seen in how they’re approaching the holiday season this year. Even in an uneven time, we saw increased spending in certain sectors, like restaurant and apparel.”

PYMNTS research has found that an estimated 66 million consumers — or 34% of restaurant patrons — tried a new restaurant for the first time in late September and early October.

Between 10% and 17% of restaurant purchases come from first-time visitors, underscoring the significance of new customers for restaurants, according to “The 2022 Restaurant Digital Divide: Turning First-Time Diners Into Loyal Customers.”

The Mastercard SpendingPulse also reported that consumers returned to brick-and-mortar stores at a faster pace than they increased their shopping online.

In-store retail sales were up 8.6% while eCommerce climbed 5.9%. Compared to their pre-pandemic sales growth, in-store sales weren’t far off the 11.6% growth recorded in November 2021 but eCommerce has slowed considerably from the 94.9% leap seen three years earlier, the report said.