U.S. consumers increased their spending during this year’s holiday season, according to the Mastercard Spending Pulse Index.

The number of sales in the U.S. increased 7.6 percent during the period from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24, compared with the same period last year, the same source said.

The rate tracks in-store and online retail sales, excluding auto sales, for all payment methods and is not adjusted for inflation. The increase in sales comes after a decline in consumer spending led to a decrease in U.S. retail sales in November.

The inflation rate likely accounts for much of the year-over-year increase in spending during the holiday season.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Statistics chart – the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation – rose 5.5% in November from a year earlier, the Commerce Department said. “Consumers and retailers managed the season well, showing resilience in the face of mounting economic pressures,” Michelle Meyer, chief economist for North America at the Mastercard Economics Institute, noted in a statement.

Restaurant sales were up more than 15 percent compared to the same period last year. U.S. shoppers also showed a growing preference for online shopping.

From this effect, purchases increased 10.6% year-over-year, at a time when e-commerce accounted for 21.6% of total retail sales, up from 20.9% in 2021.