Keep in mind that the NRF is a lobbying group, not a data collection organization.
They typically post wildly optimistic numbers early in the season in the hopes that shoppers see them and figure that if everyone else is ‘buying’, then they should too.
And frankly, who cares? If last years numbers were a tick below a trillion, and this year’s are a tick over, BFD.
AffectOdd9719 on
But the growth according to detailed studies is part of the L shaped economy- rich people spending and middle to poor people pulling back – not sustainable
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Data from major retailers and payment processors show that shoppers weren’t just paying higher prices; they were buying more items overall.
One of the clearest trends in 2025 is the continued rise of “buy now, pay later” services.
Thank you capitalism. For spreading the true wealth around much better than the government ever could.
True wealth of course being goods and services. Not 0s in a bank account.
We should have a capitalism appreciation day every month in every public school. To counter the woke trash.
This article is from November 6th, and should be use for entertainment purposes only.
Here are articles from this past week based on VISA reports, showing that consumer spending was up 4.2%, but overall was down y/y.
This has some nice visuals
https://corporate.visa.com/en/sites/visa-perspectives/trends-insights/visa-retail-spending-monitor-holiday-analysis.html
More information
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/23/holiday-retail-spending-visa-report-2025.html
Keep in mind that the NRF is a lobbying group, not a data collection organization.
They typically post wildly optimistic numbers early in the season in the hopes that shoppers see them and figure that if everyone else is ‘buying’, then they should too.
And frankly, who cares? If last years numbers were a tick below a trillion, and this year’s are a tick over, BFD.
But the growth according to detailed studies is part of the L shaped economy- rich people spending and middle to poor people pulling back – not sustainable