Mayor Adams Releases new Analysis Showing Post-COVID Recovery of Holiday Spending, Job Creation, Foo | City of New York


Mayor Adams Releases new Analysis Showing Post-COVID Recovery of Holiday Spending, Job Creation, Foot Traffic as "Affordability Week" Rolls on

December 5, 2024

Average of Over 3 Million People Visited City Shopping Districts Every Day During 2023 Holiday Season,
With Over 4 Million Daily Visits on Weekend Before Christmas

Retail Sector Has Added Average of 14,000 Jobs Each Holiday Season,
Generating Over $500 Million Per Year in Economic Impact

Outside of Manhattan, Outer Borough Hubs in Downtown Flushing and
Downtown Brooklyn Attract Large Crowds During Holiday Season

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today released a new report, “Festive Spending: the Impact of the Holiday Season on NYC Retail,” showing holiday season shopping in New York City has fully recovered following the COVID-19 pandemic, attracting up to 4.4 million daily visitors, creating 14,000 jobs, and pouring over $500 million into New York City’s local economy. This injection of money into local businesses comes as Mayor Adams celebrates “Affordability Week,” where he is advancing a series of generational projects that will make New York City more affordable for working-class people. The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) report — analyzing daily visitation on Black Friday and December weekends from 2019 to 2023 — traced foot traffic across traditional Manhattan tourism and retail hubs like Times Square and Fifth Avenue, as well as neighborhoods across the boroughs like Downtown Flushing in Queens and MetroTech in Brooklyn. As the Adams administration and New York City has broken multiple records for total jobs in the city’s history, and a recent analysis from the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) shows a robust recovery of the retail sector, the holiday season is poised to bring a significant boost to New York City’s economy and continue to put money in New Yorkers’ pockets, making the city more affordable for working-class people.

“New York City isn’t just coming back — we’re back, and we’re better than ever,” said Mayor Adams. “We’re hitting jobs record after jobs record, we’ve brought our economy back from its COVID lows to hit new highs, and we’re continuing to put money back into working-class New Yorkers’ pockets to make this city more affordable. No time is that more true than the holidays — and we can’t wait to welcome the millions of people from around the world who come to our shopping districts this time of year. They’re supporting thousands of jobs and businesses, and injecting half a billion dollars into our local economy. So, when you’re shopping this holiday season, remember — shop local, shop small, and most of all, spend money in New York City!”

“This report offers data that supports what we see across the city every day — a robust economy, bustling business corridors, and a large and growing network of small businesses in every borough,” said First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer. “As we enter the holiday retail season, the city will see hundreds of millions of dollars of spending at businesses of all sizes and is poised to enter 2025 on an economic upswing that will benefit all New Yorkers.”

“New York City has reached record highs this year in employment and labor force participation. This new report shows that our shopping districts have also had a strong comeback and will continue to thrive,” said NYCEDC President and CEO Andrew Kimball. “New York City’s holiday season is expected to return to its pre-COVID levels this year, bringing millions of visitors, thousands of jobs, and hundreds of millions of dollars to our communities, from Midtown Manhattan to Downtown Flushing and everywhere in between.”

Key takeaways from the report include:

The holiday season is the busiest time of the year for New York City shopping districts. In 2023, daily visitation during Black Friday and December weekends averaged 3.2 million visitors, a 14 percent increase from the average daily visitation of the year. Daily visitation in these districts peaked at 4.4 million visitors — 2.8 times the population of Manhattan — on the weekend before Christmas.

Manhattan retail hubs like Fifth Avenue, Bryant Park, Times Square, and SoHo are the most popular destinations for holiday shopping, with foot traffic increasing significantly on Black Friday as well as on December weekends. In other boroughs, retail hubs like Downtown Flushing and the MetroTech area in Downtown Brooklyn also attract large crowds. Daily visits to Downtown Flushing, for example, exceed those to SoHo.

The holiday season is also a key driver of jobs for the retail sector. Since 2020, the retail sector has added an average of 14,000 jobs each holiday season, generating over $500 million per year in economic impact.

The Midtown hubs — Times Square, Bryant Park, and Fifth Avenue — are top attractions for tourists, especially during the holidays. In 2023, 70 percent of visitors to these areas during the holiday season came from outside of the city, 9 percentage points higher than an average weekend.

Increased visitation leads to higher consumer spending near the end of the year. In New York City, spending during December weekends in 2023 was 20 percent higher than non-holiday weekends that year.

Today’s report on holiday retail boosts follows positive news last month from DCP that storefront vacancy rates have declined for four consecutive quarters. By comparison, a survey of 24 corridors across the city during the summer of 2020 showed inactivity rates of over 30 percent.

The Adams administration has continued to support businesses, invest in public realm improvements, and cut red tape across the five boroughs, resulting in this commercial revitalization. In June, the New York City Council passed Mayor Adams’ “City of Yes for Economic Opportunity” zoning amendment, which will help businesses find space and grow, support entrepreneurs and freelancers, boost growing industries, and enable more vibrant streetscapes and commercial corridors. Through the New York City Department of Small Business Services, the Adams administration has also connected small businesses to over $290 million in grants and loans and more than $35 million in commercial revitalization for Business Improvement Districts. As a result, New York City now has a record number of small businesses in operation, and one in five small businesses open today opened during the Adams administration.

In October, Mayor Adams and the Future of Fifth Partnership unveiled their plans to transform Fifth Avenue, between Bryant Park and Central Park, into a world-class, pedestrian-centered boulevard, bolstering the iconic corridor’s status as an economic engine and job creator for New York City. The proposed design expands sidewalks by 46 percent, shortens crosswalks making for safer crossings, reduces the number of traffic lanes from five to three, and adds plantings and lighting for aesthetics and safety.

NYCEDC used a variety of primary and secondary data sources to study the economic impact of the holiday season. The visitation and foot traffic data are from Placer.ai. The spending trends are based on the Mastercard consumer spending index. Employment figures come from the New York State Department of Labor Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. The economic impact is estimated using holiday retail employment and the RIMS II multipliers for New York City from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

“As the holiday season continues across the five boroughs, it’s clear that the tourism sector is not only back — it’s thriving,” said NYC Tourism + Conventions Interim CEO and Chief Marketing Officer Nancy Mammana. “With approximately 7.5 million travelers expected to visit New York City between Thanksgiving and New Years, we’re seeing the energy of our recovery reflected in foot traffic, job creation, and economic impact. Whether it’s supporting small businesses in our neighborhoods or contributing to the global allure of New York’s iconic shopping destinations, the holiday season underscores the resilience and vitality of our city. We’re proud to welcome the world to experience all that New York City has to offer — and to continue fostering an environment where businesses and workers can flourish.”

“Since day one, we have been committed to a full economic recovery in our city. We hit a major milestone when, a year earlier than projected, we recovered all the private sector jobs lost at the height of the pandemic. Today, we see even more proof, with holiday spending and economic activity at pre-pandemic levels,” said New York State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. “Millions of people are once again flocking to our world-class shops, injecting over half a billion dollars into our economy and supporting 14,000 jobs. Together, we are ushering in an era of unprecedented economic prosperity, uplifting everyone in the greatest city in the world.”

“The strong holiday spending outlined in the report underscores the resilience of our city,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “While there's still more work to be done to support and strengthen our small businesses, this report offers encouraging news that will brighten the holiday season. I urge both New Yorkers and visitors to continue to patronize the great small businesses that are found right here in Queens and throughout our city.”

“As chair of the Committee on Economic Development, I am encouraged by the latest analysis showing a robust recovery in holiday spending and job creation across New York City,” said New York City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farías. “The addition of 14,000 seasonal jobs and the economic boost of over $500 million underscores the resilience of our city’s retail sector and the importance of local businesses to our overall recovery. This report highlights the growing economic vitality not just in Manhattan, but across our outer borough hubs like Downtown Flushing and Downtown Brooklyn. By supporting local businesses and increasing foot traffic, we’re ensuring that our economic recovery reaches all communities, creating new opportunities and making New York City more affordable for working-class families. This is a strong step forward in our efforts to build an inclusive and thriving economy for every New Yorker.”

“Holiday shopping season is incredibly important to Union Square's business community, and the strong economic activity during this time reflects the positive trends we’ve seen in Union Square over the past year, including visitation returning to 109 percent of January 2020 levels,” said Julie Stein, executive director, Union Square Partnership. “The holiday season represents one of our strongest retail cycles, with 14 percent of the area’s total retail spending in 2023 happening between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. In fact, throughout the 2023 holiday season, the district saw 68 percent higher than average retail spending. I hope everyone has the opportunity to visit the Union Square Holiday Market — New York’s oldest and longest-running holiday market — and show their support for our small and local businesses this holiday season.”

“Foot traffic is up and it looks like it will be a strong season for retailers on Fifth Avenue,” said Madelyn Wils, interim president, Fifth Avenue Association. “The mood is great, and both retailers and office tenants are excited about ‘The Future of Fifth’ and putting pedestrians first. We are pleased by the investments happening on Fifth Avenue and thank Mayor Adams for committing to the growth of both Fifth Avenue and the Midtown business district.”

“Times Square has always experienced a huge influx of visitors and New Yorkers to the area as the holiday season approaches, through Christmas and, of course, on New Year’s Eve when we welcome hundreds of thousands of people to ring in the New Year,” said Tom Harris, president, Times Square Alliance. “This year is already showing signs of an increase in foot traffic, with an almost 9 percent increase in October and a 20 percent increase in November over last year, as well as a 50 percent increase in entertainment spending since before the pandemic. We are looking forward to a very strong December and new year in Times Square.”

“With new store openings and foot traffic returning to pre-pandemic levels, Downtown Brooklyn remains one of the city's most vibrant retail hubs heading into the busy holiday shopping season,” said Regina Myer, president, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. “We're also working to make our iconic shopping corridor, Fulton Street, greener and more pedestrian-friendly to ensure it continues to support jobs and businesses. The retail sector is a key contributor to the economy, and we look forward to a successful holiday season across Downtown Brooklyn and the city.”

“Holiday shopping always provides a critical boost for retailers, but the allure of New York City as a premiere holiday destination takes this to the next level by maximizing foot traffic and helping storefronts bring in many more shoppers,” said Jessica Walker, president and CEO, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. “The impact is game-changing for local businesses, particularly in Manhattan which has the highest storefront vacancy rate of the five boroughs.”

“This holiday season, it’s amazing to see New York City’s retail sector thriving and returning to pre-pandemic levels,” said Tom Grech, president and CEO, Queens Chamber of Commerce. “Queens is renowned for its vibrant shopping areas and rich cultural enclaves, offering an incredible variety of American and international products that draw shoppers from around the world. The economic impact of this resurgence is a win for business owners and the communities they serve, creating thousands of seasonal jobs and pouring millions of dollars into our local economy. It’s proof that New York City’s resilience and diversity remain our greatest strengths.”

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