US retailers have faced one of the worst holiday shopping seasons in years because of the prolonged recession.
Total retail sales dropped by up to eight percent during the traditional November-December shopping period even after retailers slashed prices to woo bargain hunters, the MasterCard Inc.'s SpendingPulse unit said in a preliminary survey report.
The holiday season is seen as a make-or-break period for many retailers and a key for the struggling US economy, which relies on consumer spending for 70 percent of activity.
The season has witnessed bankruptcy for big consumer electronics seller Circuit City, which is reorganizing, as well as KB Toys, which is liquidating and closing more than 400 stores.
Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis for SpendingPulse said that total retail sales were down in the 5.5 to eight percent range for November and December as Americans cut spending amid job losses and a tight squeeze on incomes and credit.
The 40 percent drop in the price of gasoline compared to December 2007 accounted for almost half of the decline posted in the latest retail survey, which tracked retail and service sales nationally.
Total apparel sales declines stabilized in the 19 to 21 percent range over the same period last year, only slightly higher than the 19.5 percent year-to-year decline through the first week in December, and the 19 percent decline in the first half of November, the survey said.
However, Internet retailer Amazon.com reported its best holiday season ever in 2008, saying it sold more than 6.3 million items worldwide on its peak day, December 15, or the equivalent of "a record-breaking 72.9 items per second".
SG/HAR