US retail sales rose 3.1% this holiday season — sharp drop from 7.6% last year: report

Inflation-battered shoppers cut back on their holiday spending this year — opening their wallets mainly for “big deals,” according to industry experts and newly released figures.

US retail sales rose just 3.1% year-over-year between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 — well short of analyst forecasts of 3.7% and less than half of the 7.6% spike recorded last year, according to Mastercard.

Amazon and Walmart ramped up promotions through November to entice bargain-hunting shoppers, but analysts said the discounts were not as deep as the prior year when retailers were saddled with excess stock after the pandemic.

Arun Sundaram, an analyst at CRFA Research, said many shoppers waited for Black Friday and Cyber Monday to make holiday purchases and finished the final sprint during Super Saturday — the last shopping day before Christmas.