Retail sales in the United States fell for the third month in a row in December as the coronavirus pandemic caused shoppers to pinch money and hunt home.
Retailers and food retailers earned just under $ 541 billion last month – the lowest level in July – after falling 1.4 percent in November and 0.1 percent in October, the U.S. Census Bureau said Friday. US.
The larger-than-expected decline in December of 0.7% came amid rising COVID-19 infections and deaths that have plagued retailers even at the height of the shopping season. Economists expected sales to remain flat last month, according to Wrightson ICAP.
“The COVID-19 blockades have sent consumers to their homes, where they are too worried about the prospect of spending money in stores and malls across the country,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank.
December retail spending was 2.9% higher than the previous month, but about 2.1% below the 2020 peak of about $ 553 billion in September, federal data show.
The slowdown came despite an unexpectedly strong holiday season, in which retailers posted $ 789.4 billion in sales, up 8.3% from 2019, according to the National Retail Federation.
While consumers spent more on cars, clothing and personal care products in December, online sales and other in-store products fell 5.8 percent and retailers of electronics and home appliances fell 4.9 percent. one hundred less, the feds said.
Restaurants and bars fell 4.5 percent, while sales at grocery and beverage stores fell 1.4 percent – a possible sign of food insecurity among Americans struggling to survive the pandemic. Jonathan Silver, CEO of Affinity Solutions, the marketing solutions and marketing solutions company.
“One of the biggest solutions in today’s figures is that lower-income groups, which kept the economy running until the autumn, have begun to show spending fatigue, probably linked to the stagnant stimulus and potential unemployment problems,” he said. said Silver.
The December decline came as the US economy lost jobs for the first time since April, while officials imposed a new round of lock-in measures to combat the spread of COVID-19.
While vaccines launched across the country could help retailers recover in the coming months, “the pandemic has certainly changed the way we shop forever, so even when the storefronts start to open again, the trade Electronic will continue to be a key source of revenue for retailers, ”said Marwan Forzley, chief executive of payment technology firm Veem.