Holiday 2025 sales rose 4.1 percent despite weaker consumer sentiment, producing a season that was ultimately in line with industry expectations.
That sales tally was released Monday morning by the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor and was based on retail sales from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2025. The Retail Monitor is a monthly measure of retail sales and is powered by Affinity Solutions, which provides insights on consumer purchasing data tracked through credit and debit cards.
Earlier this year, the NRF predicted that holiday sales would increase between 3.7 percent and 4.2 percent and exceed $1 trillion for the first time.
“December Retail Monitor data saw a sharp surge in growth as consumers continued prioritizing holiday spending on family and friends,” said Matt Shay, NRF president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “Continued economic momentum helped land 2025 holiday sales near the top of NRF’s forecast, reaffirming that consumers remain on solid footing.”
In December alone, retail sales, excluding automobile dealers and gasoline stations, were up a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent month-over-month, and ahead 3.5 percent year-over-year, according to the Retail Monitor. That compared with increases of 0.1 percent month-over-month and 4.5 percent year-over-year in November.
The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales (excluding restaurants as well as auto dealers and gas stations) was up 1.6 percent month-over-month in December and up 3.6 percent year-over-year. That compared with a slight decrease of 0.04 percent month-over-month and an increase of 4.66 percent year-over-year in November.
The NRF pointed out that a late Thanksgiving pushed Cyber Monday into December in 2025, so an additional busy day of holiday spending is included in December’s data. December’s numbers brought total 2025 sales as calculated by the Retail Monitor to an increase of 4.9 percent and core sales to an increase of 5.1 percent.
Software giant Adobe last week reported that U.S. consumers spent $257.8 billion online from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, up 6.8 percent from a year earlier, setting a new record for e-commerce. Adobe said there were 25 days that saw $4 billion or more in spend during the holiday season, up from the 18 days in 2024. Also, 56.4 percent of online transactions were completed through mobile devices, up from 54.5 percent in 2024.
Adobe’s analysis covered over 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million stock keeping units and 18 product categories.
Of the billions spent online this holiday season, 54 percent was driven by electronics, apparel and furniture. Electronics rose 8.2 percent to $59.8 billion. Apparel rose 7.4 percent to $49 billion, and furniture rose 6.6 percent to $31.1 billion.
Cosmetics increased 9.3 percent to $8.4 billion in holiday sales. Groceries rose 10.2 percent to $23.7 billion. Sporting goods advanced 7.7 percent to $8.4 billion, and toys rose 7.8 percent to $8.8 billion.
“This 2025 holiday season, consumers embraced generative AI more than ever as a shopping assistant in their purchasing decisions,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst, Adobe Digital Insights. “Competitive discounts and flexible payment options like buy now pay later also contributed to driving record spend of $257.8 billion throughout this holiday season.”
In other online statistics from Adobe:
- Returns were down 1.2 percent this holiday season.
- Online sales of video games were up 415 percent this season.
- Hand tool sales rose 395 percent.
- Refrigerators and freezers were up 360 percent
- Home security products increased 360 percent.
- Bracelets rose 335 percent; earrings were up 275 percent.
- Fragrance advanced 295 percent.
