Mastercard reports U.S. retail sales grew nearly 8 percent this holiday season
(CNN)- Discounts and deals apparently swayed people into spending more this holiday season.
Monday Mastercard reported holiday retail sales in the U.S. jumped over 7.5% compared to last year.
The company looked at sales in store and online from Nov. 1st to Dec. 24th.
They said this year retailers discounted heavily, while consumers went hunting for the best deals and made trade-offs to stretch their gift-giving budgets to accommodate inflation.
Preliminary figures show online sales grew over 10.5% compared to the same period last year.
Black Friday was still the top day for shopping, with sales up more than 12% from last year.
Consumers also dined out more, with in-person dining at restaurants up over 15%.
