According to a report by Mastercard SpendingPulse™, US retail sales jumped 8.8% year-over-year in January 2023, according to. According to Instore Magazine, “the credit card company’s January report spotlighted the jewelry and restaurant sectors due to their impressive performances.”
Most importantly in this context, jewelry sales in the US jumped up 6.5% year-on-year in January, “potentially reflecting early Valentine’s Day shopping.” In December 2022, jewelry sales in the US went down 5.4% year-on-year, “still very respectable considering the sector was trying to keep up with the off-the-charts December 2021 performance, when jewelry sales increased YOY by 32%.”
According to Steve Sadove, Mastercard Senior Advisor, “Consumer spending remains resilient in the first few weeks of 2023. Mastercard SpendingPulse insights show that the overall retail story remains largely positive with January posting a solid month of growth across the country.”
Michelle Meyer, North America Chief Economist, Mastercard Economics Institute, commented:
“The primary factor driving spending decisions is income – not just income today but the expectation for income tomorrow. The strength in the labor market remains a critical support for consumer purchasing power and we’re seeing this reflected in our SpendingPulse insights for January.”
In January, a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation (NRF) showed that consumers plan to spend more money on their loved ones on Valentine’s Day this year. The survey, conducted among 7,616 adult consumers in the US taken between January 3 to January 11, shows that US consumers plan to spend $5.5 billion on jewelry – out of a total of $25.9 billion (21%). This is an increase on the $23.9 billion spent in 2022, “and one of the highest spending years on record,” according to IDEX Online.
