Retail Sales Down Fifth Straight Month

According to a report issued Friday by the U.S. Department of Commerce, retail sales dropped 1.8 percent from October to November. And while the predicted dip was 1.9 percent, November marked the fifth consecutive monthly drop in sales. November 2008 sales, which were $355.7 billion, were 7.4 percent below retail sales for the same month last year.

The report said total sales for the September through November 2008 period were down 4.5 percent from the same time last year. The Commerce Department also revised the sales drop figures from September to October to being down 2.9 percent from being down 2.8 percent.

The hardest hit retail segments were automobiles and gasoline, in which sales were down 25.2 percent and 22 percent, respectively, from November 2007. Retail trade sales were down 2 percent from October and down 8.5 percent below the year before.

Electronics and appliance stores, however, saw sales increase from October to November to $9.23 billion from $8.97 billion, or 2.8 percent growth. The boost in electronics and appliance sales is likely tied to aggressive Black Friday sales and hot consumer electronic products like video game systems, flat-screen televisions, music players and smartphones. And while electronics sales grew month-to-month, year-to-year sales were down 4.7 percent in November compared to the same month a year before, when sales reached $9.68 billion.