Today in Retail: Mastercard Projects Good Tidings for Retailers this Holiday; Amazon Overshadows Sporting Goods Competitors

In today’s top retail news, Mastercard is predicting retail sales during the holiday shopping season will increase by over 7% year over year, while Amazon remains the leader when it comes to sporting goods, hobby, music and book sales. Also, retail and restaurant management software company SpotOn has raised $300 million to acquire enterprise provider Appetize, and Rebag sees billions of dollars of resale opportunity in consumers’ closets.

Mastercard Predicts 7.4% Retail Growth During Holiday Shopping Season

The Mastercard SpendingPulse forecast projects that overall sales between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, excluding sales of automobiles and gasoline, will exceed comparable 2020 sales by 7.4% and comparable 2019 sales by 11.1%. The biggest likely winners appear to be those selling retail goods — a sector predicted to have year-over-year growth in the range of 90% for 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.

Amazon Dominates Sporting Goods, as Dick’s Elbows Walmart in Battle For 2nd Place

Both Amazon and Walmart saw a dip in sporting goods, hobby, music and book sales after the fourth quarter of 2020, when holiday shopping likely boosted purchases — especially for Amazon, which had one-fifth of all sales in the final quarter of last year. Walmart, on the other hand, has not been able to add market share, and has been treading water at just over 3% for every quarter in the past year.

SpotOn Acquires Enterprise POS Provider Appetize to Expand Ability to Scale

Retail and restaurant point-of-sale (POS) system provider SpotOn has raised $300 million in Series E funding, which will be used to acquire digital and mobile commerce platform Appetize while raising its own valuation to $3.15 billion. SpotOn’s core product payments and management software product caters mainly to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Appetize is more focused on enterprise businesses, such as sports and entertainment venues, theme parks, zoos and college campuses.

Rebag CEO Eyes $50B of Luxury Inventory That Is ‘Sitting in Closets’

Though the luxury secondhand market is currently growing four times faster than the luxury market, Charles Gorra, founder and CEO of Rebag, says there’s still more to do to improve accessibility for both buyers and sellers. The luxury handbag marketplace recently launched Rebag Outlet, a section of the website dedicated to off-price designer items — including bags, watches, fine jewelry and accessories — at up to 80% off retail.