Retail sales saw strong growth in December, in line with the National Retail Federation’s forecast for record spending for the 2025 holiday period. That’s the finding of the latest CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions.
“December Retail Monitor data saw a sharp surge in growth as consumers continued prioritizing holiday spending on family and friends,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Continued economic momentum helped land 2025 holiday sales near the top of NRF’s forecast [released in early November], reaffirming that consumers remain on solid footing.”
Based on Retail Monitor data, 2025 holiday sales from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 grew 4.1%. That compares with NRF’s forecast that holiday sales would increase between 3.7% and 4.2% from the same period in 2024 to just over $1 trillion. The forecast is based on U.S. Census Bureau data, but Census numbers for December have not yet been released.
Total retail sales, excluding automobile dealers and gasoline stations, were up 1.26% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 3.54% unadjusted year over year in December, according to the Retail Monitor. That compared with increases of 0.12% month over month and 4.53% year over year in November.
A late Thanksgiving pushed Cyber Monday into December in 2025, so an additional 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 4.93% over 2024 and core sales to an increase of 5.08%.
Overall, the new report on December results showed sales were up in six out of nine categories on a yearly basis, led by clothing stores, sporting goods stores and digital products.
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Click here for more from the report, including specifics on the performance of all the major sectors it tracked.
