While the pandemic and lockdowns may have temporarily limited where consumers could spend their paychecks and free time, key trends for March 2022 highlight the diversification of consumer spending across sectors and channels, said the report.
The luxury (27.1 per cent), apparel (16 per cent) and department store (14 per cent) sectors saw double-digit growth during the month. In-store sales continued to rebound, while e-commerce declined YOY in March. However, online sales are still up 83.7 per cent vs pre-pandemic levels while in-store sales are up 9.4 per cent compared to March 2019.
“Retail sales remain strong but are stabilising as consumers resume spending on passion areas like travel, live entertainment, indoor dining and other in-person activities,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and chairman of Saks Incorporated. “After nearly two years of cautious optimism around the broader reopening, it’s a healthy sign that consumers are returning to a balanced level of spending across retail sectors and services.”
ALCHEMPro News Desk (KD)
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