Holiday 2023: US Retail Wrap-Up—Strong Performance in E-Commerce and Clothing Sectors Drives Growth

Published – January 2024

Coresight Research concludes our coverage of the 2023 holiday season in US retail with our annual wrap-up report, drawing on proprietary consumer survey data, store-visit (traffic) data from Placer.ai, trading updates from selected retailers and retail sales data from the US Census Bureau.

Data in this research report include:

• Proprietary survey data on consumers’ pre-holiday spending expectations and their reported holiday spending
• Survey data on what channels, categories and retailers consumers shopped during the 2023 holiday season
• Store traffic data for the holiday quarter by sector and retailer
• US total retail sales excluding gasoline and automobiles, total and by sector, for October, November and December 2023

Introduction

Market Scale and Opportunity

US Holiday 2023 Wrap-Up: Coresight Research Analysis

1. Survey Findings—How Much US Consumers Spent, What They Bought and Where They Shopped
2. What Store Data Reveal About Shopper Traffic
3. Retailers’ Reported Performances
4. Holiday Quarter Retail Sales Data

What We Think

• Implications for Brands/Retailers
• Implications for Real Estate Firms
• Implications for Technology Vendors

NOTES

10-page PDF report

Amazon (NasdaqGS: AMZN), Burlington Stores (NYSE: BURL), Costco (NasdaqGS: COST), Dollar General (NYSE: DG), Dollar Tree (NasdaqGS: DLTR), eBay (NasdaqGS: EBAY), JC Penney (NYSE: JCP), Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS), Macy’s (NYSE: M), Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN), Ross Stores (NasdaqGS: ROST), Target (NYSE: TGT), The TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX), Walmart (NYSE: WMT)

1. All Respondents: Total Holiday Spending—Pre-Holiday Expectations vs. Reported Holiday Actuals (% of Respondents)
2. Holiday Shoppers: Channels Via Which They Made Holiday Gift Purchases (% of Respondents)
3. Holiday Shoppers: Categories Purchased as Gifts—Pre-Holiday Expectations vs. Reported Holiday Actuals (% of Respondents)
4. Quarterly Average of Consumers’ Nonfood Shopping, All Respondents: Which Retailers They Have Bought Nonfood Products from in the Past Two Weeks (% of Respondents, Average of Three Months)
5. Monthly Average of Consumers’ Nonfood Shopping, All Respondents: Which Retailers They Have Bought Food Products from in the Past Two Weeks (% of Respondents)
6. Store Visits by Major Retail Sector, 4Q23: YoY % Change
7. Store Visits at 10 Major Retailers, 4Q23: YoY % Change
8. Visits to Shopping Centers: YoY % Change
9. US Total Retail Sales ex. Gasoline and Automobiles: YoY % Change
10. US Retail Sales, by Sector, 4Q23: YoY % Change
11. US Inflation