Retail sales in the U.S. fell in November, despite the holiday season, according to the Census Bureau released Wednesday.
According to analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal, retail sales rose just 0.3 percent during the month, which did not seriously meet the expected 0.8 percent.
Typically, Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, electronics and home appliance stores, which perform well, sold 4.6 percent from October to November. Department stores also saw sales fall 5.4 percent.
At the same time, bar and restaurant sales rose 1 percent and clothing and accessories sales rose 0.5 percent, according to figures covering store and online spending.
Ted Rossman, a retail analyst at CreditCards.com, said, “We’re seeing some signs that inflation and supply chain problems may have pushed back November sales a bit.”
However, the analyst added that part of the month-long vulnerability may be related to better-than-expected sales in October, when some Americans sold holiday gifts more than usual due to supply chain problems. bought earlier.
“I see this as a sign that Americans are starting holiday shopping early, as opposed to bad news for retailers,” Rossman said.
Despite the relatively low growth for the month, retail sales increased by 18.2% compared to November 2020.
On Wednesday, the Census Bureau revised its October growth rate from 1.7 percent to 1.8 percent.
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