U.S. retail sales. The largest fall since 2009?

A new report from the U.S. Commerce Department (released on February 14th 2019) paints a picture of a struggling industry. However, the credibility of the report is under question. It states that retail sales tumbled by 1.2% in December 2018 from November 2018, which would be the largest decline since September 2009 as the U.S. economy was emerging from recession. According to the National Retail Federation, retail sales in December fell by 1.5% from November but during the holiday s