MarketWatch: Retail sales drop 0.3% on widespread declines

[marmar]

Retail sales drop 0.3% on widespread declines
For 2009, sales sank a record 6.2% to $4.14 trillion

By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch


WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in December on widespread weakness across different kinds of stores, the Commerce Department estimated Thursday.

The decline was unexpected, as economists surveyed by MarketWatch were forecasting a 0.5% gain.

Auto sales disappointed, dropping 0.8% in dollar terms even as the automakers reported higher unit sales. See our complete economic calendar and consensus forecast.

Excluding the 0.8% decline in auto sales, retail sales fell 0.2%. The figures are adjusted for seasonal factors but not for price changes. Read the full report on the government website.

Bad weather during the month likely depressed sales. Perhaps in reaction to the storms, non-store sales, such as online and catalog sales, rose 1.4%.

Gasoline sales jumped 1%, a surprisingly strong gain considering that prices barely budged over the month. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/retail-sales-drop-03-on-widespread-declines-2010-01-14

[spinbaby]

1. Something I noticed this year

The stores didn't seem crowded until the week before Christmas--always before they were crowded for the whole month of December.