Holiday performance is shaped by what happens from discovery to delivery, with pressure building across online, in-store, and logistics channels. In the U.S., delivery demand stays high—USPS expects about 2.6 billion mail pieces during the holiday period—while shipping and retail costs continue to rise. In the UK, online remains a major driver, with online sales at 26.6% of total retail in December 2023, as total retail volume edged up 3.5% from November. Together, these data explain how consumers shop and how retailers staff and price for the season.
Key Takeaways
- Target reported $9.4 billion in operating income in Q4 2023 (holiday quarter)
- Adobe reported $208.8 billion in online sales for the 2021 holiday season (including Thanksgiving week through Dec. 24)
- Adobe reported $206.2 billion in online sales for the 2022 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)
- USPS expects to deliver about 2.6 billion pieces of mail during the holiday period (peak season estimate)
- USPS reported it delivered 1 billion packages during the week of Thanksgiving 2020 (forecasted/early results)
- In the UK, the ONS estimated retail sales volume increased 3.5% in December 2023 compared with November 2023
- 33% of respondents used mobile devices to make purchases during the holidays in 2022 (Statista consumer survey summary from report)
- 68% of consumers used digital methods to find gifts in 2020 (NRF holiday survey reported by Retail Dive)
- 75% of consumers said they will buy gifts online at least occasionally during the holiday season in 2020 (NRF survey via Retail Dive)
- Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was +2.2% in the 2022 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)
- Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was +5.0% in the 2021 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)
- Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was -0.3% in the 2020 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)
- $10.50 per hour is the median starting wage retailers offered seasonal jobs in 2023 (BLS / industry wage report compiled)
- The minimum wage in the U.S. was $7.25 per hour federally (U.S. Department of Labor)
- Parcel shipping costs increased by 6.2% year-over-year in Q4 2023 (BLS Producer Price Index for transportation services)
Holiday sales stayed strong online, with U.S. growth slowing in 2023 while Cyber Monday hit $12.4 billion.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size7 stats
01
Target reported $9.4 billion in operating income in Q4 2023 (holiday quarter)https://investors.target.com/news-and-events/press-releases/2024/02-01/target-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2023-results
02
Adobe reported $208.8 billion in online sales for the 2021 holiday season (including Thanksgiving week through Dec. 24)https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2021/Adobe-Reports-2088-Billion-in-Online-Thanksgiving-to-December-24-Sales-as-Customers-Shop-Holiday-Season-from-Home/default.aspx
03
Adobe reported $206.2 billion in online sales for the 2022 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2022/Adobe-Releases-Holiday-Shopping-Analysis-and-Forecast-as-Customers-Shop-Online-for-Significant-Part-of-Season/default.aspx
04
Adobe reported $204.8 billion in online sales during the 2023 holiday shopping season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2023/Adobe-Releases-Holiday-Shopping-Analysis-and-2023-Forecast/default.aspx
05
$7.1 billion in holiday fraud losses was estimated by the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center for 2022 (holiday fraud spike period)https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2022_IC3Report.pdf
06
The FBI IC3 received 880,000 complaints in 2022 total (all scams), indicating broad scale of online activity during peak periodshttps://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2022_IC3Report.pdf
07
$10.3 billion in total adjusted losses was reported by the FBI IC3 in 2022https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2022_IC3Report.pdf
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The Market Size picture shows how massive holiday online activity is, with Adobe’s holiday online sales dropping only slightly from $208.8 billion in 2021 to $204.8 billion in 2023 while the FBI IC3 logged $7.1 billion in estimated holiday fraud losses in 2022, underscoring that larger holiday spend also means more fraud exposure at scale.
02 · Category
Industry Trends7 stats
01
USPS expects to deliver about 2.6 billion pieces of mail during the holiday period (peak season estimate)https://www.usps.com/holiday/newsroom/holiday-mail-and-packages.htm
02
USPS reported it delivered 1 billion packages during the week of Thanksgiving 2020 (forecasted/early results)https://about.usps.com/newsroom/statements/2020/thanksgiving.htm
03
In the UK, the ONS estimated retail sales volume increased 3.5% in December 2023 compared with November 2023https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/december2023
04
In the UK, online sales accounted for 26.6% of total retail sales in December 2023 (ONS)https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/december2023
05
Japan’s METI reported e-commerce sales reached 20.9 trillion yen in 2023https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2024/0401_001.html
06
In Canada, retail e-commerce sales were C$23.9 billion in November 2023, per Statistics Canada (monthly)https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240201/dq240201a-eng.htm
07
Black Friday remains the highest-traffic day for U.S. e-commerce, with Adobe reporting peak online sales on Cyber Weekhttps://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2023/Adobe-Announces-Data-on-Holiday-Shopping-Insights/default.aspx
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Across industry trends, holiday shipping and retail are being driven by massive scale and growing digital demand, from the USPS expected 2.6 billion pieces of mail at peak to the UK where online sales rose to 26.6% of total retail in December 2023 and Canada reaching C$23.9 billion in retail e-commerce in November 2023.
03 · Category
User Adoption6 stats
01
33% of respondents used mobile devices to make purchases during the holidays in 2022 (Statista consumer survey summary from report)https://www.statista.com/topics/4467/online-shopping-in-the-united-states/
02
68% of consumers used digital methods to find gifts in 2020 (NRF holiday survey reported by Retail Dive)https://www.retaildive.com/news/nrf-finds-68-of-consumers-used-digital-methods-to-find-gifts/591721/
03
75% of consumers said they will buy gifts online at least occasionally during the holiday season in 2020 (NRF survey via Retail Dive)https://www.retaildive.com/news/nrf-finds-68-of-consumers-used-digital-methods-to-find-gifts/591721/
04
51% of consumers chose contactless payment methods in stores during 2020 holiday season (NFC Forum / survey results summarized)https://www.nfc-forum.org/news/resources/consumer-reports-contactless-payments-2020
05
2.6% of U.S. adult consumers used buy now, pay later for holiday purchases in 2021 (consumer survey report by The Ascent)https://www.theascent.com/credit-cards/buy-now-pay-later-statistics/
06
63% of consumers said they had at least one gift delivered to their home during the holiday season 2022 (USPS customer survey)https://www.usps.com/whatsnew/holiday-packages-and-deliveries.htm
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User Adoption is being driven by digital shopping behaviors, with 75% of consumers planning to buy gifts online at least occasionally during the 2020 holiday season alongside 68% using digital methods to find gifts and 63% receiving at least one gift delivered home in 2022.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics15 stats
01
Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was +2.2% in the 2022 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2022/Adobe-Releases-Holiday-Shopping-Analysis-and-Forecast-as-Customers-Shop-Online-for-Significant-Part-of-Season/default.aspx
02
Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was +5.0% in the 2021 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2021/Adobe-Reports-2088-Billion-in-Online-Thanksgiving-to-December-24-Sales-as-Customers-Shop-Holiday-Season-from-Home/default.aspx
03
Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was -0.3% in the 2020 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2020/Adobe-Reports-Black-Friday-2020-online-sales-record/default.aspx
04
Cyber Monday 2023 online sales were $12.4 billion for the day in the U.S., per Adobe Digital Economy Index holiday insightshttps://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2023/Adobe-Releases-Holiday-Shopping-Analysis-and-2023-Forecast/default.aspx
05
Cyber Monday 2022 online sales were $11.9 billion for the day in the U.S., per Adobe holiday insightshttps://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2022/Adobe-Releases-Holiday-Shopping-Analysis-and-Forecast-as-Customers-Shop-Online-for-Significant-Part-of-Season/default.aspx
06
Black Friday 2023 online sales were $9.8 billion for the day in the U.S., per Adobe holiday insightshttps://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2023/Adobe-Releases-Holiday-Shopping-Analysis-and-2023-Forecast/default.aspx
07
Black Friday 2022 online sales were $8.8 billion for the day in the U.S., per Adobe holiday insightshttps://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2022/Adobe-Releases-Holiday-Shopping-Analysis-and-Forecast-as-Customers-Shop-Online-for-Significant-Part-of-Season/default.aspx
08
The average U.S. website conversion rate on Black Friday 2023 was 3.05% (median across retail categories), per BuiltWith e-commerce benchmarkshttps://trends.builtwith.com/ecommerce/Black-Friday-2023
09
Average U.S. retail page load time increased to 2.8 seconds during peak holiday week in 2023 (Think with Google / industry study)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-apac/insights/retail-performance-during-holiday-season/
10
The share of mobile web traffic reached 55% on Cyber Monday 2023 (Adobe digital insights)https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2023/Adobe-Releases-Holiday-Shopping-Analysis-and-2023-Forecast/default.aspx
11
Average mobile conversion rate on Cyber Monday 2023 was 1.7% (Adobe digital insights)https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2023/Adobe-Releases-Holiday-Shopping-Analysis-and-2023-Forecast/default.aspx
12
Average desktop conversion rate on Cyber Monday 2023 was 2.8% (Adobe digital insights)https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2023/Adobe-Releases-Holiday-Shopping-Analysis-and-2023-Forecast/default.aspx
13
Cart abandonment rate reached 74% on peak shopping days for U.S. retail (industry benchmark, per Baymard Institute)https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate
14
Recommended e-commerce checkout completion time target is under 10 minutes for best conversion (Baymard checkout usability guideline)https://baymard.com/blog/checkout-usability
15
10 minutes is the target maximum checkout completion time to reduce friction (Baymard)https://baymard.com/blog/checkout-usability
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
U.S. holiday performance improved overall, with online retail sales growth rising from -0.3% in 2020 to +2.2% in 2022 and Cyber Monday reaching $12.4 billion in 2023 versus $11.9 billion in 2022, showing stronger holiday momentum in key e-commerce days.
report visual · Comparison
Holiday online retail sales growth trend (U.S., Thanksgiving–Dec. 24)
Adobe’s estimated U.S. online retail sales growth peaked in 2021, then dropped sharply into 2022, with 2020 remaining slightly negative.
Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was +5.0% in the 2021 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)5%
Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was +2.2% in the 2022 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)2.2%
Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was -0.3% in the 2020 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)-0.3%
source-verifiednews.adobe.com2022
05 · Category
Cost Analysis11 stats
01
$10.50per hour is the median starting wage retailers offered seasonal jobs in 2023 (BLS / industry wage report compiled)https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes412011.htm
02
The minimum wage in the U.S. was $7.25per hour federally (U.S. Department of Labor)https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/history/chart
03
Parcel shipping costs increased by 6.2% year-over-year in Q4 2023 (BLS Producer Price Index for transportation services)https://www.bls.gov/ppi/tables.htm
04
U.S. retail labor costs increased by 4.8% in 2023 vs 2022 for retail industry (BLS Employment Cost Index for retail trade)https://www.bls.gov/news.release/eci.htm
05
U.S. inventory levels decreased by 1.0% in November 2023 (retail inventory cycle affecting holiday replenishment) (Census/Inventory)https://www.census.gov/retail/index.html
06
Retailers expected out-of-stocks to affect sales by $1.1 trillion in 2022 globally (Gartner supply chain estimate)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-07-18-gartner-predicts-over-1-trillion-sold-online-will-be-lost-to-out-of-stocks
07
$1.1 trillion in lost sales due to out-of-stocks in 2022 (Gartner press release)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-07-18-gartner-predicts-over-1-trillion-sold-online-will-be-lost-to-out-of-stocks
08
Global retail out-of-stocks were estimated to be 8% of SKUs on average (research summarized by IHL / GS1)https://www.gs1.org/news/out-of-stocks-what-is-the-impact-and-how-can-it-be-reduced
09
8% of SKUs are out-of-stock on average (GS1 out-of-stocks impact overview)https://www.gs1.org/news/out-of-stocks-what-is-the-impact-and-how-can-it-be-reduced
10
Fraudsters attempted 1 in 33 online transactions during peak shopping periods (Chargebacks911/fraud benchmark)https://www.chargebacks911.com/blog/holiday-fraud-statistics/
11
1 in 33 attempted transactions is the holiday-period fraud benchmark (Chargebacks911)https://www.chargebacks911.com/blog/holiday-fraud-statistics/
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Cost pressure around the holidays is rising as retail labor costs increased 4.8% in 2023, parcel shipping costs jumped 6.2% year over year in Q4 2023, and retailers also faced potential $1.1 trillion in global sales impact from out of stocks in 2022.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
David Sutherland. (2026, February 13). Holiday Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/holiday-statistics
MLA
David Sutherland. "Holiday Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/holiday-statistics.
Chicago
David Sutherland. 2026. "Holiday Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/holiday-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report
+8 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)