U.S. retail sales dropped by 1.9% in December as the Covid-19 Omicron variant and inflation surged, damping the end of the holiday shopping season.
December’s sharp decline followed record-level retail sales that started with a 1.8% gain in October from the prior month. Sales at retail stores, online and restaurants grew 16.9% in December when compared with the same month a year ago, the Commerce Department said Friday.
