Press
January 13, 2025

December CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor Results Show Strong Growth Boosted by Final Thanksgiving Weekend Daysย ย 

Retail sales jumped in December, boosted in part by two busy holiday shopping days during Thanksgiving weekend falling in the final month of the year.

WASHINGTON, January 13, 2025 โ€“ Retail sales jumped strongly in December, boosted in part by two busy holiday shopping days during Thanksgiving weekend falling in the final month of the year, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions, released today by the National Retail Federation.

โ€œGrowth rebounded strongly in December from a misleadingly weaker November as the result of the final two days of the busy Thanksgiving holiday weekend being included in Decemberโ€™s data,โ€ NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. โ€œCalendar issues aside, value-conscious customers showed enthusiasm for celebrating loved ones with the right gifts at the right price points for their budgets in December. Households are in good financial shape amid low unemployment, growing income and continued deceleration of inflation for goods. We remain confident in our 2024 holiday forecast and retail sales projection for the year.โ€

Total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were up 1.74% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 7.24% unadjusted year over year in December, according to the Retail Monitor. That compared with increases of 0.15% month over month and 2.35% year over year in November.

The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales (excluding restaurants in addition to automobiles dealers and gasoline stations) was up 2.19% month over month in December and up 8.41% year over year. That compared with a decrease of 0.19% month over month and an increase of 1.43% year over year in November.

The numbers reflect the fact that the Sunday after Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday both fell in December rather than November because of the later-than-usual Thanksgiving in 2024, likely giving a meaningful boost to December.

The results follow NRFโ€™s forecasts that 2024 retail sales for the full year and 2024 holiday retail sales during November and December โ€“ excluding autos, gas and restaurants โ€“ would both increase between 2.5% and 3.5% over 2023. The forecasts are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and final results will be known when the Census Bureau releases Decemberโ€™s results on Thursday.

Unlike survey-based numbers collected by the Census Bureau, the Retail Monitor uses actual, anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions and does not need to be revised monthly or annually.

December sales were up across the board on a yearly basis, led by online sales, clothing and accessories stores, and electronics and appliances stores. Sales were up in all but one of nine categories on a monthly basis. Specifics from key sectors include:ย 

  • Online and other non-store sales were up 4.49% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 33.05% year over year unadjusted.ย 
  • Clothing and accessories stores were up 4.07% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 14.47% year over year unadjusted.ย 
  • Electronics and appliance stores were up 3.25% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 10.23% year over year unadjusted.ย 
  • General merchandise stores were up 3.24% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 9.77% year over year unadjusted.ย 
  • Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores were up 3.81% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 7.43% year over year unadjusted.ย 
  • Health and personal care stores were up 1.85% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 6.98% year over year unadjusted.ย 
  • Furniture and home furnishings stores were up 0.84% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 5.34% year over year unadjusted.ย 
  • Grocery and beverage stores were up 0.59% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 4.27% year over year unadjusted.ย 
  • Building and garden supply stores were down 0.09% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 0.85% year over year unadjusted.ย 

To learn more, visit nrf.com/nrf/cnbc-retail-monitor.

As the leading authority and voice for the retail industry, NRF provides data on retail sales each month and also forecasts annual retail sales and spending for key periods such as the holiday season each year.

About NRF
The National Retail Federation passionately advocates for the people, brands, policies and ideas that help retail succeed. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., NRF empowers the industry that powers the economy. Retail is the nationโ€™s largest private-sector employer, contributing $5.3 trillion to annual GDP and supporting more than one in four U.S. jobs โ€” 55 million working Americans. For over a century, NRF has been a voice for every retailer and every retail job, educating, inspiring and communicating the powerful impact retail has on local communities and global economies. nrf.comย 

About CNBC
CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business content consumed by more than half a billion people per month across all platforms. The networkโ€™s 15 live hours a day of news programming in North America (weekdays from 5:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBCโ€™s global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC at night features a mix of reality programming, CNBCโ€™s highly successful series produced exclusively for CNBC and a number of distinctive in-house documentaries.

CNBC also offers content through its vast portfolio of digital products such as: CNBC.com, which provides financial market news and information to CNBCโ€™s investor audience; CNBC Make It, a digital destination focused on making you smarter about how you earn, save and spend your money; CNBC PRO, a premium service that provides in-depth access to Wall Street; a suite of CNBC mobile apps for iOS and Android devices; Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Siri voice interfaces; and streaming services including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Samsung Smart TVs. To learn more, visitย cnbc.com/digital-products. Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBCUniversal Media Village Web site atย nbcumv.com/programming/cnbc. For more information about NBCUniversal, please visitย NBCUniversal.com.

About Affinity Solutions
Affinity Solutions (Affinity) is the leading consumer purchase insights company. We provide a complete view of U.S. and U.K. consumer spending, across and between brands, via exclusive access to fully permissioned data from over 140 million debit and credit cards. This data is transformed into privacy-compliant, actionable intelligence for marketers, consultancies, and financial services companies to drive strategic growth and lasting customer relationships.ย Visit us atย www.affinitysolutions.comย to discover how weโ€™re shaping the future of consumer purchase insights.

###

MEDIA CONTACTS

NRF: J. Craig Shearman | press@nrf.com

CNBC: Melissa Castro | melissa.castro@nbcuni.com

Affinity Solutions: Kathleen Siddell | ksiddell@affinitysolutions.com

Related Insights

Discover How Affinity Solutions Can Help Your Business Grow