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Dining and lodging the big holiday gifts in 2014

Written by Tom Ryan

While many traditional Christmas categories sold well this year, the biggest gains came from casual dining and lodging, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse's initial report on holiday selling.

Casual dining and lodging saw double-digit and nearly double-digit year-on-year sales growth, respectively, from Black Friday through Dec. 24, according to the report, according to Reuters.

"This holiday season was a social one," said Sarah Quinlan, SVP at MasterCard Advisors, in a statement. "While certain retail categories saw steady performance from prior months, the focus on creating experiences stayed at the top of many lists."

Jewelry also saw solid gains, up mid-single digits. Ms. Quinlan also counted the gift of "memorable pieces of jewelry" as part of the experiential purchase. She added, "We saw increases in those categories that will drive future stories beyond just a package exchanged with a friend or family member."

In other categories, apparel overall saw single-digit growth and women's apparel had mid single-digit growth. Furniture grew mid single digits. A surprising shortfall was the flat sales of electronics, although some analysts attributed that the decline in PC sales.

Overall, Mastercard estimated retail sales during the Black Friday to Christmas Eve period increased 5.5 percent in 2014, in line with the firm's original forecasts. The gain reflected one additional shopping day this year over 2013 and was aided by an improving economy, although Ms. Quinlan said it wasn't certain how much was driven by heavy discounts over the season.

Mastercard tracks spending by combining sales activity in MasterCard's payments network with estimates of cash and other payment forms.

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