Mastercard Inc MA released preliminary insights into retail sales for the bank holiday year 2022 on Monday to coincide with November from the National Retail Federation (NRF). predictionsindicating that American consumers have shown resilience in the face of mounting economic pressures during the holiday season.

This information can be seen as a double-edged sword. Here’s why.

What happened: Mastercard’s SpendingPulse, which aggregates sales activity on the Mastercard payments network coupled with survey-based estimates for other forms of payments, showed that from November 1 to December 24, U.S. retail sales — excluding autos — elevated 7.6% year over year, in line with NRF’s calls for 6% to 8% year over year growth.

Here are the trends for the 2022 holiday season;

Online sales grew 10.6% year-on-year, with e-commerce accounting for 21.6% of all retail sales, suggesting that in a year of record-high inflation, consumers are prioritizing convenience and the availability of discounts admits.

Black Friday sales are up 12% this year from 2021, with the holiday retaining its title as the busiest spending day of the year. Amazon.com, Inc AMZNa leading e-commerce provider, said that Black Friday 2022 was the company’s biggest weekend in terms of shopping volume.

Consumers are also spending more on in-person experiences as most Americans try to stick COVID-10 in the rearview mirror. Personal dining experiences increased 15.1% year over year.

Why it matters: While American consumers have shown resilience in the face of mounting economic pressures, the Federal Reserve has embarked on a nearly year-long journey to bring inflation down from 40-year highs and cut household spending that has supported consumer price hikes.

The central bank has raised the benchmark interest rate seven times this year, with higher lending rates already hurting sectors like housing.

The central personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index, which the Fed favored…