Actionable insights straight to your inbox

Equities logo

Holiday Hype Fizzles Out; Retail Flat in December…

Other than autos and gas, Christmas was a turkey for sales...
Mike Shedlock / Mish is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit Sitka Pacific's Investment Management Page to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific. I am also a contributing "professor" on Minyanville, a community site focused on economic and financial education.
Mike Shedlock / Mish is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit Sitka Pacific's Investment Management Page to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific. I am also a contributing "professor" on Minyanville, a community site focused on economic and financial education.

So much for that expected strong Christmas. Economists were giddy across the board, but other than autos and gas, retail sales were flat in December. Christmas hype did not live up to its billing.

Check out reality vs. Econoday Expectations.

  • Retail sales minus autos were 0.2 percentage points below the lowest economist’s estimate.
  • Retail sales minus autos and gas were flat and 0.3 percentage points below the lowest economist’s estimate.

Disastrous Christmas for Dept Stores, Sporting Goods, Electronics, Appliances

The above table from the Census Department Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services report.

L.D. stands for leased departments (floor space leased out to others).

Amazon had a great Christmas Season. So did autos dealers, assuming those were real consumer sales and not channel stuffing. The box retailers got clobbered.

I’ve long said we are under-utilizing nuclear energy. This shouldn’t be controversial; nuclear has something for everyone.