Even a minor Christmas miracle at the end of December couldn't make up for the rest of the month's malaise. And whatever magic retailers managed to muster doesn't seem to have lasted long. In December, retail sales unexpectedly dropped compared to the prior month, despite the glimmer of hope from a surge in last-minute shopping.
The Commerce Department said retail sales dropped by 0.3% in December, compared to an already nasty November; expectations called for a 0.5% increase. While retail sales increased 5.4% year over year, bear in mind that it's easy to beat last December's miserable figures, since the financial crisis was foremost on consumers' minds back then.
If there's any silver lining to this cloud, it lies in December's uptick in online sales, suggesting that Amazon.com
Total retail sales for all of 2009 fell 6.2%. Over the course of this rough year, retail sales clearly picked up, jumping 1.9% in the final three months -- but even that data may be adjuted upwards.
As sales remain low, unemployment remains stubbornly high, further compounding retail's current woes. Jobless consumers simply don't spend that much, and there's no sign that employment will start rising anytime soon. Even mighty Wal-Mart Stores
Investors should weed weak retail and consumer stocks out of their portfolios. Supposed turnaround plays like Borders
Stocks like Wal-Mart, Costco
