November holiday shopping off to a lackluster start, CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor finds

Retail Sales Performance - CNBC NRF retail monitor shows November holiday shopping getting off to a lackluster start [1] - Retail sales powered by real credit card spending data rising just 012% [2] - Core retail sales (excluding auto, gas, and restaurants) was flat [3] - Year-over-year retail sales up 45% and core up 47% [3] Calendar Impact - Cyber Monday fell in December this year, impacting November sales [3][4] - Thanksgiving was late this year, delaying holiday shopping [8] - 71% of the time Black Friday through Cyber Monday lands in November [10] Sector Performance - Seven of the 12 sectors saw declines month-over-month, including electronics and appliances [5] - Food and beverage and restaurants saw gains, but not necessarily at malls [6] - Digital products, building garment supplies, and general merchandise were down [5][6] Consumer Behavior - Shoppers had more than half of their shopping left to do after Thanksgiving weekend, the highest percentage since 2019 [6] - American Express data showed business up 9% from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday [9] Future Outlook - The next couple years are going to be normal, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday in November [11] - Industry is still battling tough comparisons to pandemic spending in 2021 and 2022 [12]