U.S. holiday sales rose marginally, less than 1 percent, Â the weakest since 2008, according to news reports.
From October 28 through December 24, retail sales grew by 0.7 percent, according to the Purchase, a New York-based research firm, bloomberg.com reports. Â This compares with sales growth of 2 percent during the same period a year ago.
Many reasons have been offered for the weak retail sales growth. These include, the uncertainty over the failure to strike a deal and avoid the “Fiscal Cliff;” Hurricane Sandy which disrupted shopping in certain northeast states and diverted money for gifts to housing repairs and new appliances; and the Newton massacres.
But, another explanation might be the early Black Friday policies implemented by many major retailers, which backfired. Â According to Business Insider, retailers were looking for consumers to splurge toward the end of the season. Â But that just didn’t happen.
