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What was behind the fall in retail sales in November?

Retail sales in November fell more than expected, but the biggest decrease in 11 months could be down to a couple different factors. One theory is that US consumers got started on their holiday shopping early in October to take advantage of sales as retailers dropped prices to clear out inventory thus reducing purchases the following month.

On the other hand, goods prices plummeted in November, and since the numbers aren’t adjusted for inflation the dollar value of sales came in lower. 

“It is hard to know at this point if the November weakness represented a fundamental change in the trend or reflected some inevitable cooling following a strong run for real spending into October, or some combination,” Economist at JPMorgan in New York Daniel Silver told Reuters. “For now we are not particularly alarmed by the November drop in retail spending.”