Visa: 77% of 2024 Holiday Spending Happened In-Store

Visa said it is seeing increasing consumer confidence this holiday season.

The payments giant released preliminary insights into U.S. holiday buying that showed a 4.8% uptick in spending, a figure not adjusted for inflation, according to a Monday (Dec. 23) press release.

“This holiday shopping season, we’re seeing increasing consumer confidence as people sought out in-store experiences — and went online — to purchase gifts and celebrate the holidays with friends and family,” Wayne Best, chief economist at Visa, said in the release. “This spending growth demonstrates the adaptability of both consumers and retailers and the overall strength of the economy.”

This year saw consumers head back to stores, with 77% of holiday payment volume happening at brick-and-mortar establishments “versus 23% online, showing the in-store experience remains important for the consumer,” according to the release.

Total retail spending in stores climbed at a rate of 4.1% compared to 1.6% last year, while online retail shopping rose by 7.1% versus 10.3% last year, per the release. There were also upticks in spending across a few categories, including electronics, clothing and accessories, and building materials.

The last category was up nearly 5% this year after declining by almost 4% last year, “indicating consumers turned their attention to their homes this year,” the release said.

There was also an increase in fraud, per the release. Visa reported earlier in the month that it blocked nearly double the amount of suspected fraud during Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend this year compared to the same period in 2023.

Visa said its artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities allowed it to block 85% more suspected fraud worldwide on Cyber Monday this year compared to last year. This happened as suspected fraudulent transactions at physical and digital stores rose by 200%, due in part to fraudsters’ use of AI.

“Although crooks are using AI more and more, so are we,” Paul Fabara, chief risk and client services officer at Visa, said in a Dec. 17 news release.

Visa’s findings came days after Census Bureau figures that showed overall retail sales climbing 0.7% in November. Sporting goods and hobby-related spending was up 0.9% month over month, and sales of electronics gathered 0.3% from October. Sales at furniture and related establishments were also up 0.3%.