Retail sales slump 2.7 percent in December

[spinbaby]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Sales at retailers fell at a steeper-than-expected rate in December, government data showed on Wednesday, as a deteriorating economic environment forced consumers to cut back on spending during the key holiday period.

The Commerce Department said total retail sales fell 2.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted $343.2 billion last month following a revised 2.1 percent drop in November, previously reported as a 1.8 percent decline.

December's drop was the biggest since October last year when sales fell 3.4 percent. For the whole of 2008, sales eased 0.1 percent, the department said.

Excluding motor vehicles and parts, sales were down a record 3.1 percent after a revised 2.5 percent decline in November, previously reported as a 1.6 percent drop, the department said. Total sales, excluding autos, rose 3.0 percent in 2008.

Read more: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Retail-sales-slump-27-per...

[SpiralHawk]

1. The putrid fruit of republiconomics

[Ranting_Wacko]

2. Real Bad Sign...

When was the last time sales DROPPED in December?

[spinbaby]

3. I think it's compared to last December

Not November.

[customerserviceguy]

4. Whine, whine, whine

2.7% is nothing compared to what I figured it would have been. The party's over, the punchbowl has been drained. There's no job security, no increase in the credit limit, and no more equity in home sweet home to drag out to buy toys and trinkets with.

I smell a whinefest for retail to get a bailout. And it won't be going to the clerks that they lay off, it will go to bonuses and benefits for the muckety-mucks who didn't see this coming six months ago.

[4_TN_TITANS]

5. I'm sorry, I just don't buy these government numbers anymore.

Nobody I know is buying anything but the necessities. Everyone in the neighborhood is staying home at night and on the weekends. And this is TN where we are a few months behind the rest of the country, including the recession.