13-4-2021
US in-store sales rose 26.3 percent and online sales grew 56.8 percent yoy in March, a year since the first COVID-19 lockdown, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse.
The jewellery sector in March recorded a 106.1percent yow increase. “In March 2020, discretionary sectors such as apparel and jewelry experienced a dip in spend when people first started social distancing; this has led to significantly elevated growth rates this March,” Mastercard noted. Compared to March 2019, sales of jewellery jumped 30 percent, reflecting a release of pent-up demand.
Mastercard said retail sales benefited from the infusion of stimulus payments, coupled with broader reopening across the country. This is particularly evident when looking at the first and second halves of the month:
Sales in the first half of March increased 1.6 percent vs. a year ago
In comparison, during the second half of the month, retail sales rose 46.9percent yoy. This growth reflects both the positive boost of the stimulus payments on consumer spending as well as the lockdowns that weakened retail sales across the country in the same period in 2020.
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