Where Americans spent the most money this holiday season

Americans spent notably more money during the holiday shopping season as the U.S. economy powered through high inflation and interest rates.

Retail sales in the U.S. excluding auto sales rose 3.1 percent from last year, according to data released by Mastercard SpendingPulse on Tuesday.

“This holiday season, the consumer showed up, spending in a deliberate manner,” Michelle Meyer, chief economist for the Mastercard Economics Institute said in a release on the new data.

“The economic backdrop remains favorable with healthy job creation and easing inflation pressures, empowering consumers to seek the goods and experiences they value most.”

Here’s a breakdown of where Americans spent their money this holiday shopping season, from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24.

Brick-and-mortar stores

According to the data, sales in-store rose by 2.2 percent during this holiday season. Mastercard SpendingPulse noted that despite the fact that “[s]pending online is increasing at a faster pace than in-store … shopping in-store still makes up a considerably larger portion of total retail spending.” 

Online

The Mastercard SpendingPulse data also showed a rise in online holiday sales. According to the data, there was a 6.3 percent rise in online sales this holiday season. Last year, data from Adobe showed that online shopping yielded more than $200 billion during the previous holiday season, which broke a record for e-commerce.

Apparel 

Apparel sales also rose this holiday season in comparison with last year, up by 2.4 percent in the U.S., according to the data. 

“Apparel was one of the top categories for shoppers this season as consumers shopped for new outfits and upcoming holiday festivities,” Mastercard SpendingPulse noted in the release.

Electronics

Electronics was one of two categories listed that had a drop in sales this holiday season in comparison with last year, down by 0.4 percent.

Jewelry

Jewelry also dropped in sales this holiday season in comparison with last year, down by 2.0 percent.

Grocery

Grocery sales went up this holiday season by 2.1 percent over last year, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse.

Restaurants 

Restaurants got a major boost in holiday sales over last year, up by 7.8 percent, according to the data. 

“Culinary celebrations continued as family and friends gathered in restaurants to ring in the holidays,” Mastercard SpendingPulse noted.