About This Statistic
This statistic shows the year-over-year growth of holiday retail sales in the United States from 2000 to 2016. In 2008, the recession affected American holiday spending, so retail sales during the Christmas season in the United States declined 4.6 percent. Luckily, sales recovered again by 2010: that year, Christmas holiday retail sales grew by 5.2 percent compared to the previous year.
Holiday Season in the United States
The holiday season is just around the corner and it’s truly the best time of the year for both consumers and retailers of all shapes and sizes. Since the recession in 2008, Christmas holiday retail sales in the United States have grown steadily. In 2016, Christmas retail sales grew to about 655 billion U.S. dollars; a 3.6 percent increase from the previous year. The amount of money that U.S. consumers plan to spend on gifts has also increased. A November 2015 survey revealed that U.S. consumers expect to spend, on average, aprroximately 830 U.S. dollars in 2015; over a 100 U.S. dollar increase from 2014.
Ever the optimists, Millennials are approaching the holiday season with more vigor than older shoppers — putting them squarely at the top of many retailers' wish lists. A survey by Shullman Research Center revealed that 57 percent of U.S. holiday shoppers in 2015 will be Millennials. Black Friday is also the day most Millennials plan to begin their holiday shopping; roughly 67 percent according to a survey by Russell Research.
For millions of people, Black Friday is the time to do some serious Christmas shopping --even before the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone! It is the Friday after Thanksgiving, and it's one of the major shopping days of the year in the United States -falling anywhere between November 23 and 29. While it's not recognized as an official US holiday, many employees have the day off -except those working in retail. Ever since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday shopping season.
