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Sales at department stores are losing a lot of their holiday jingle.
After a big kickoff in the aisles over the Thanksgiving holiday, shoppers apparently ran out of steam in recent days — despite having extra spending money from lower gas pump prices.
“With consumer confidence now falling, hopes that retailers would enjoy a robust holiday shopping season are fading,” economist Paul Dales at Capital Economics told AP.
He added that many consumers are spooked by Washington’s budget crisis stalemate and fears of the fiscal cliff.
Experts said holiday fatigue could be kicking in earlier than usual for some shoppers, while others remain on the sidelines to await markdowns after Christmas.
Customer visits and sales skidded in the first week of December compared to a year earlier, according to ShopperTrak, which counts traffic at 40,000 retailers. Visits and sales were both higher from the previous week.
The latest shopping data showed that big department store sales eased 0.8 percent last month, while online shopping and retail orders jumped 3 percent, their strongest gain in 13 months.
Macy’s same-store sales fell 0.7 percent, while Kohl’s saw an even steeper drop of 5.6 percent. Analysts had expected both to post gains for the month.
In contrast, sales at online giant Amazon were up 3 percent for the month, and Limited Brands, which includes Victoria’s Secret, jumped 5 percent.
Overall, retailers posted a 0.3 percent sales gain — reversing a decline of 0.3 percent in October, according to the Commerce Department.
Auto showrooms enjoyed a healthy 1.5 percent rise in November as motorists rushed to replace an estimated 250,000 vehicles lost in Hurricane Sandy.
Home improvement stores posted 1.6 percent jump in sales for building materials to repair storm damages.
The government’s report said that when sales of autos, gasoline and building materials were stripped out, core retail sales gained 5 percent in November.
Gasoline receipts skidded 4 percent — the biggest decrease since December 2008 — due to a 50-cent drop in the average price of a gallon, to $3.31.
The Labor Department said separately that producer prices also fell by 0.8 percent in November.