US Holiday Spending on Track as Retail Sales Rise in November

US retail sales continued to improve in November as the holiday shopping season got underway, and spending stayed in line with industry projections.

Revenue from consumer shopping rose 0.6% compared to October and 4.5% year on year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said last week.

“Retail sales showed healthy year-over-year gains in November, while month-over-month data was largely flat,” said NRF CEO Matthew Shay. “Shoppers looking for online deals may have held back a bit until Cyber Monday, which landed in December due to a late Thanksgiving, likely shifting some spending.”

November sales grew in eight of the nine retail categories the NRF tracks. The clothing and accessories segment — which encompasses jewelry — went up 8% year on year and saw little to no change from October. Only the building and garden supply category dropped 9% year on year and decreased 1.7% month on month.

November retail data was not yet available from the US Census Bureau, which is behind on releasing its results due to the two-month government shutdown.

The NRF’s retail figures — which the group bases on credit-card purchase data — aligned with its outlook for the 2025 holiday season. The NRF has predicted year-on-year growth of 3.7% to 4.2% for the period spanning November 1 to December 31, expecting just over $1 trillion in sales.

“We remain confident in our 2025 holiday forecast as well as our retail sales projections for the full year,” said Shay.

Image: A woman shopping at a mall. (Shutterstock)