Online sales have increased 13.5% this holiday season

E-commerce sales have increased 13.5% this holiday season compared with last year’s, according to the SpendingPulse report from MasterCard Advisors, the consulting arm of MasterCard.

The payment card network measured spending between Oct. 31 and Dec. 11. The SpendingPulse report is based on retail sales using all payment forms, including credit and debit cards of all brands, cash and checks.

E-commerce spending has increased by double-digit percentages since the second week of November, MasterCard says. “E-commerce continues to be the star of the holiday shopping season so far,” says Mike Berry, director of industry research for SpendingPulse.

The report offered no overall growth figure for retail spending. “Retail sales generally continued November’s momentum, with several of the sectors recording moderate to strong gains,” the report says.

The report also said that total apparel sales have increased 9.8% between Oct. 31 and Dec. 11 when compared with last year. Total electronics sales have increased 0.4% and jewelry sales 2.6%.