Mastercard has some early cheer for retailers eyeing the 2021 holiday shopping season, according to a press release emailed to PYMNTS.
The financial services giant’s most-recent Mastercard SpendingPulse forecast, which is based on sales in a broad range of sales categories and transacted with credit cares, cash and checks, predicts what the company called “the most wonderful holiday retail season on record.”
The survey contemplates spending for the periods November 1 through December 24 and October 11 through December 24. The biggest likely winners appear to be those selling retail goods — a sector predicted to have year-over-year growth in the range of 90 percent for 2021 compared the same period in 2020.
For the traditional November 1 through December 24 period, the Mastercard SpendingPulse forecast anticipates overall 2021 sales, excluding sales of automobiles and gasoline, will exceed comparable 2020 sales by 7.4 percent and comparable 2019 sales by 11.1 percent. The forecast sees eCommerce sales increasing in 2021 by 7.6 percent over the 2020 figures and 57.3 percent over 2019 figures.
By category, the survey anticipates 2021 traditional holiday shopping season sales to exceed comparable 2020 sales by: 45.9 percent for apparel, 13.2 percent for electronics, 59.0 percent for jewelry, 92.8 percent for luxury items and 14.8 percent for items purchased at department stores. The traditional 2021 season vs. comparable 2019 figures by category are: apparel up 17.8 percent, electronics up 17.9 percent, jewelry up 52.9 percent, luxury up 55.8 percent and department store up 5.2 percent.
For the extended October 11 through December 24 period, the Mastercard SpendingPulse forecast anticipates overall 2021 sales, excluding sales of automobiles and gasoline, will exceeds comparable 2020 sales by 6.8 percent and comparable 2019 sales by 7.5 percent. The forecast sees eCommerce sales increasing in 2021 by 7.5 percent over the 2020 figures and 59.3 percent over 2019 figures.
By category, the survey anticipates 2021 extended holiday shopping season sales to exceed comparable 2020 sales by: 45.4 percent for apparel, 11.8 percent for electronics, 60.0 percent for jewelry, 92.2 percent for luxury items; and 14.0 percent for items purchased at department stores. The traditional 2021 season vs. comparable 2019 figures by category are: apparel up 15.9 percent, electronics up 17.4 percent, jewelry up 54.7 percent, luxury up 54.2 percent and department store up 4.7 percent.
