Washington — Defying predictions they would turn into Scrooges, consumers spent money on clothes, electronics and home furnishings in December and prevented the sharp drop in retail sales that many analysts were forecasting.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that sales at the nation's retailers dipped by 0.1 percent in December from the previous month, a better showing than the 1.4 percent decline many economists were predicting.
In November, sales fell by a steep 3 percent.
"We went into the holiday season thinking sales could be disastrous. In fact, consumers held up fairly well," said Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist with LaSalle Bank/ABN AMRO.
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