Where Americans spent the most money this holiday season

Americans spent notably more money during the holiday shopping season as the U.S. economy powered through high inflation and interest rates.

Retail sales in the U.S. excluding auto sales rose 3.1 percent from last year, according to data released by Mastercard SpendingPulse on Tuesday.

“This holiday season, the consumer showed up, spending in a deliberate manner,” Michelle Meyer, chief economist for the Mastercard Economics Institute said in a release on the new data.