November retail sales rise, but growth slows

The Christmas season is looking different this year for many retailers. Growth is not as high as it was expected by many companies or Wall Street. Retailers are claiming many reasons for the slow growth. The unusually warm weather or rain has impacted stores, varying by location of course. The longer shopping season this year is often citied as a cause of lower then expected November growth. Thanksgiving was earlier by a day or so this year, and Christmas day falls on a Monday, giving shoppers a whole extra weekend that was not always there before. Retailers are still hopeful for December shopping trends and realized that there December sales will have to be excellent to compensate for slow November sales, which included Black Friday.