0%！美国12月零售销售意外停滞，假日季尾声消费疲软

Group 1 - December retail sales in the U.S. showed an unexpected 0% month-over-month change, indicating weaker-than-expected consumer support for the economy during the holiday shopping season [1] - The U.S. Commerce Department reported that December retail sales, unadjusted for inflation, fell short of the expected 0.4% increase, also lower than the 0.6% growth in November [1] - Core retail sales, excluding automobiles and gas stations, decreased by 0.1% month-over-month [1] Group 2 - Among 13 retail categories, 8 experienced a decline in sales, with clothing and furniture stores seeing year-over-year drops, while building materials and sporting goods stores reported growth [3] - The spending power of low-income households remains weak, despite rising stock markets potentially supporting high-income household spending [3] - Restaurant and bar spending, the only service category in the retail report, saw a slight month-over-month decline of 0.1% after a significant increase in the previous month [3] Group 3 - Severe cold weather in late January hindered economic activity across much of the U.S., complicating the assessment of the true consumer demand fundamentals at the beginning of the year [4] - Economists expect that tax refunds early in the year will support consumer spending, with household spending projected to contribute over 2 percentage points to fourth-quarter economic growth [4] Group 4 - Recent corporate trends indicate a divergence in consumer spending patterns across different income groups, with Levi's noting no observed contraction in spending despite price increases, while PepsiCo highlighted significant budget pressures on low- to middle-income consumers [5] - Lululemon has observed a shift among U.S. consumers towards more cost-effective spending choices [5] - The retail data may be influenced by significant discounts during the holiday season, primarily reflecting goods consumption, which accounts for about one-third of total household spending in the U.S. [5]