Retailers Sufferring in the Holiday Season Decemer 2008

Retailers' holiday sales plummet 4 percent Friday, 26 Dec 2008 09:18pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Retailers' sales fell as much as 4 percent during the holiday season, as the weak economy and bad weather created one of the worst holiday shopping climates in modern times, according to data released on Thursday by Spending Pulse.

NEW YORK, Dec 26 U.S. retail shares traded lower on Friday following data showing the first decline in holiday sales in at least 40 years, though a handful of stores defied the trend.

The Standard & Poor's Retail Index .RLX fell 0.3 percent,
Dpartment store chains like Dillard's (DDS.N),
Macy's Inc (M.N) and the more
upscale Saks Inc (SKS.N)
posting share declines of 9.4 percent, 2.7 percent, and 5.7 percent respectively.

Among specialty retailers,
American Eagle Outfitters (AEO.N) fell 0.7 percent,
while Gap Inc (GPS.N), which owns the Banana Republic and Old Navy chains, was down 0.4 percent.

The latest data on the holiday shopping season came