Holiday retail in the United States did not just grow 4.2% this season – it also revealed how AI, omnichannel shopping, and “mission-driven” consumers are reshaping spend across fashion, electronics, and home categories.
For retailers, the latest Visa Consulting & Analytics data offers a playbook for where shoppers are splurging, where they are cutting back, and how to plan 2026 assortments and promotions. How Visa measured the holiday season The VCA Retail Spend Monitor tracked retail activity over a seven-week
window starting November 1, 2025 , using a subset of U.S. Visa payment network data plus survey-based estimates for cash and other tenders. The analysis focuses on core retail and excludes categories like autos, gasoline, and restaurants to better isolate true holiday shopping behavior. Preliminary results show total U.S.
holiday retail spending up 4.2% year over year across all payment types, unadjusted for inflation, confirming that shoppers continued to spend despite economic headwinds. For brands, this means volume held up, but margin strategy still matters once higher costs and promotions are factored in. Store vs.
screen: omnichannel realities In-store shopping remained the anchor of the season, with physical locations capturing 73% of holiday payment volume compared to 27% online.
That mix reinforces the importance of experiential flagships, local inventory depth, and fast checkout for retailers that still count on store traffic to hit December targets. Digital, however, was the growth engine: online retail sales climbed 7.8%, reflecting the total value of e-commerce purchases across retail categories…
