Shoppers spent a little bit more during the 2023 holidays, but new analysis from Earnest Insights shows consumers diverted their dollars to online marketplaces and off-price retailers as they sought value over luxury.
Overall, holiday sales grew 1.7% year-over-year between Nov. 1, 2023, and Jan. 2, 2024, vs. 3.4% for the same period last year.
Online marketplaces, which include retailers Amazon, Etsy and Temu, grew 7% year-over-year to lead the various retailing categories. Off-price department stores finished second, with 5% seasonally adjusted growth, and big box retailers also climbed by 2%.
Home furnishings, however, was among those sectors experiencing a decline, with the category down 9% for the Nov. 1 to Jan. 2 period. Home improvement was down 2%, and mid-tier department stores were off by 6%. The sectors suffering the biggest losses were luxury apparel, down 10%, and home fitness, down 17%.
Online sales as a share of holiday sales remained the same for the home category at 24%. While the home category didn’t achieve its pandemic lockdown period high of 26% in 2020, it did surpass the pre-pandemic 19% it posted in 2019 for online holiday sales.
Department stores’ online holiday sales share fell to 20% from 23% in 2023 and failed to match its pre-pandemic 22% from 2019 or its five-year high of 28% in 2020. Occasion and gifts registered the highest online holiday sales share for the 2023 season at 70%, which was down just slightly for 71% in 2022.
Looking at individual companies, TJX Cos., which operates HomeGoods, HomeSense, Marshalls and TJ Maxx, grew its holiday sales by 7%, putting it slightly ahead of Walmart, which was up 5%.
Online furniture company Wayfair was among those in the negative column, with holiday sales down 1%. Joining Wayfair were The Home Depot, down 3%; Target, down 7%; Macy’s, down 9%; and Williams-Sonoma, off 15% year over year.