By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
AP Business Writers
NEW YORK – Early reports from stores on the holiday shopping season looked good. But it turns out retail sales actually fell in December, leaving economists scratching their heads about the state of the recovery.
Sales dropped 0.3 percent from the month before, mostly because people spent less on cars and appliances, the government said Thursday. For the year, they fell 6.2 percent.
Economists said the monthly decline could just be a blip and suggested looking at the past two months together, which would show spending rising modestly. But with unemployment high and credit tight, the report shows the recovery remains tentative.