NOVEMBER’S RETAIL SALES FALL SHORT BUT CLOTHING NUMBERS ARE UP

Overall retail sales did not meet expectations in November in the US according to just released data from the Census Bureau.

Sales rose just .3 percent despite it being the start of the holiday season. Several analysts had predicted a climb of .8 percent.

However, the good news for MR readers is that sales of clothing and accessories rose by half a percentage point, thereby bucking the general trend. However, department store sales fell by more than 5 percent in the period.

The Bureau has amended its previously announced figures for October and said they were up 1.8 percent, not 1.7 percent which may indicate that people are doing their holiday shopping earlier than ever this year.