First Data releases mid-season retail growth statistics

An updated mid-season spending report from First Data examines retail spending over the 45-day period from October 28 through December 11 and spans small businesses to large retailers and everything in between.

According to the report, overall growth for Mid-Season analysis (excluding gasoline) was
6.0%, eclipsing last year’s overall growth of 3.7%.

Collected in a SpendTrend Report — a macro-economic indicator based on aggregate same store sales activity across merchant locations First Data processes transactions for in the U.S. — the data reflects real transactions at 1.3 million merchant locations for eCommerce and in-store rather than survey data or estimations. Within this dataset, we also have local-market specific data, which will show how local merchants in large cities have fared compared to other markets and the U.S. overall.

Key national findings include:

• Ongoing Growth: Retail growth was 5.4%, more than doubling last year’s retail growth of 2.0%. Retail e-commerce sales growth continues to out-pace brick and mortar growth, ending at 10.5% vs. 3.9% for brick & mortar.

• Top Sellers: Electronics & appliances saw the strongest year-over-year growth at 9.3%, followed by building materials and DIY at 6.9%. The only category to see a decline was sporting goods/hobby/books/music, which fell -0.9% YOY.

• Major Markets: Los Angeles (4.8%), San Francisco (7.4%) and Seattle (8.3%) drove overall sales growth for the West region, while Dallas (4.4%), Houston (10.6%), and San Antonio (5.5%) drove the Southwest region.

• Regional Gains: The Southwest led all regions in retail sales growth, growing by 5.8%, and followed by New England at 4.6% and the Midwest at 4.4%.

• Big Tickets: The largest average retail ticket was $89.33 in New York, followed by New Hampshire at $85.48 and Colorado at $85.03. The smallest average ticket was $41.99 in Nebraska, followed by Mississippi at $48.29 and West Virginia at $51.63.

Additional data on consumer spending during the 2015 and 2016 holiday seasons can be found here.