What: Visa's latest retail monitor reveals sustained growth in both in-store and online holiday sales across five key markets, demonstrating strong consumer spending.

Why it is important: These findings demonstrate how improved payment technologies and AI-driven solutions are enabling retailers to capture increased consumer spending across channels, setting new benchmarks for holiday season performance.

Visa's Consulting and Analytics Retail Spend Monitor has documented significant growth in holiday retail sales across five markets, encompassing both physical and digital channels. The comprehensive analysis reveals robust consumer spending patterns, with retailers successfully leveraging integrated payment solutions and digital technologies to enhance the shopping experience. This growth trajectory spans multiple retail sectors and demonstrates the effectiveness of retailers' omnichannel strategies during the crucial holiday period. The data underscores the increasing sophistication of retail operations, with merchants effectively utilising digital tools and payment technologies to meet evolving consumer preferences. The growth in both in-store and online sales indicates strong consumer confidence and highlights the successful integration of physical and digital retail experiences. This balanced performance across channels suggests that retailers have effectively adapted their strategies to capture spending across all customer touchpoints.

IADS Notes: The 2024 holiday shopping season marks a pivotal moment in retail's digital transformation. The record-breaking USD 74.4 billion in global Black Friday online sales demonstrates the increasing sophistication of digital commerce, while the growth in physical store visits to 126 million reflects successful omnichannel integration. This evolution is particularly evident in the widespread adoption of AI technologies, with 38% of shoppers utilizing AI tools for deal-hunting, fundamentally changing how consumers discover and evaluate offers. The projection of U.S. holiday retail sales reaching USD 1 trillion underscores the effectiveness of retailers' more nuanced promotional strategies, while Stripe's processing of USD 31 billion during Black Friday weekend highlights the crucial role of secure, efficient payment systems in supporting this growth. These developments collectively indicate a retail landscape where digital innovation, physical experiences, and financial technology converge to create more sophisticated and seamless shopping journeys.

Five global markets experience increase in holiday retail spending