Shoppers Let Retailers Down This Holiday Season

Spending was the worst year-over-year performance since 2008

Didn’t get all you wanted for Christmas? Neither did retailers who saw U.S. shoppers spend less, despite the slashed prices to lure people into stores. Sales of electronics, clothing, jewelry and home goods in the two months before Christmas increased just 0.7 percent compared with last year, according to the MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse report. That amounts to the worst year-over-year spending performance by holiday shoppers since 2008, when the Great Recession hit. Bad weather and rising concern over the possible fiscal cliff tax hike next year may have played a role. Some analyst have also said that the massacre in Newtown, Conn. may have dampened shoppers’ enthusiasm. In the final week of the year, retailers hope to turn it around with post-Christmas sales. (Associated Press)

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