food for thought.. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0KN1HY20150114
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(Reuters) - U.S. retail sales recorded their largest decline in 11 months in December as demand fell almost across the board, tempering expectations for a sharp acceleration in consumer spending in the fourth quarter.
Economists, however, cautioned against reading too much into the surprise weakness, noting that holiday spending made it difficult to smooth December data for seasonal fluctuations.
"Faulty seasonal adjustments from shifts in holiday spending patterns are probably more to blame for the December decline," said Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG in New York. "Looking at the last three months, spending is not collapsing."
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Bricklin Dwyer, a senior economist at BNP Paribas in New York, said fewer post-Black Friday shopping days in November than normal threw off the so-called seasonal factor used to adjust the data, resulting in a lower December sales number.
"For January 2015, this seasonal factor will boost sales by the largest factor since 2006," said Dwyer.
"This combined with the fact that we have seen a massive boost to consumers' wallets as a result of the rapid decline in gasoline prices, suggests that January could be a big month that reverses much of the December drop," he said.
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Looking over the entire holiday shopping period, sales at many retailers were solid, in sharp contrast to the Commerce Department data.
The National Retail Federation, which looks at a subset of retail sales that excludes automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, said 2014 holiday sales increased 4.0 percent from a year earlier, the fastest since 2011.
Separately, the Federal Reserve in its Beige Book said consumer spending increased during the holiday, with "modest" year-over-year gains in retail sales.
"This certainly doesn't support the unexpected drop in retail sales," said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.