US retail sales dropped last month, the Commerce Department said Friday, marking the third straight month without any growth.
Retail sales fell 0.7% in December from the month prior. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv expected sales to be flat.
America’s economic recovery took a hit in the final months of 2020, and the retail sector hasn’t been spared. Rising Covid-19 infections and renewed lockdown measures, as well as job losses, have weighed on consumer spending and were a drag on retail sales.
The economy shed 140,000 jobs in December, the first decline since April.
Some retailers have already reported holiday sales, and the results across the sector have been mixed, highlighting the wide gap between retail’s winners and losers in the pandemic.
Target said sales grew 17.2% in November and December compared with last year. But others, such as Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands, struggled. L Brands’ sales dropped 7% in November and December compared with the same time last year, the company said.
The second pandemic stimulus package signed at the end of last month should help retail sales recover in January and throughout the first quarter of 2021, economists at Morgan Stanley projected in a research report this week.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.