WASHINGTON–Although U.S. retail sales dipped in December from the prior month, they finished ahead of December 2008 as indications continue to show that the economic downturn is lifting.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, total U.S. retail sales were $353 billion last month, down 0.3 percent from November but up 5.4 percent from December of the previous year. Sales at general merchandise stores totaled $50 billion in December, a decrease of 0.8 percent from November but an increase of 2.1 percent from December 2008.
A statement from the National Retail Federation said that combining the months of November and December, holiday sales rose 1.1 percent year over year, to $446.8 billion. This surpassed NRF’s pre-holiday season projection of a 1 percent drop in holiday sales.
Rosalind Wells, NRF’s chief economist, credited retailers for doing “a tremendous job of planning for the holiday season.” However, Wells also cautioned that the depressed employment picture may put a brake on retail sales growth down the road.
NRF also said the weak housing market continues to impede sales at furniture and home furnishings stores, whose December sales fell 3.8 percent compared to the prior year. Sales in this channel did pick up 0.3 percent from November.