Trouble in Retail: Three Charts from the Frontlines

Here’s one for the bears….

December retail sales came in on the soft side this morning as the all important Christmas numbers failed to meet analysts’ expectations.

In all, 52% of the big retailers fell short as they posted only a 3.2% increase overall vs expectations of a 3.5% rise. November,as it turns out, was stronger than December.

Despite the miss, that is actually an improvement over the last two years when same store sales fell 2.5% in December 2009 and dropped 0.7% in December 2008.

Of course, this is one the bulls are more than happy to blame on the snow. It’s the rationalization du jour.

However, these three charts from a slice of Americana would seem to point to something else.

Just another sign that the bulls may be getting ahead of themselves.

Related Articles:

Best Buy Sales Stink, Stank, Stunk

Black Friday Madness  

The American Illusion

Consumer’s Revolt, Shun the Chains of Debt

The Middle Class Recession

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