This shows inflation-adjusted monthly retail spending for the past three decades.
You can see the pattern even more clearly by looking at each month’s spending as a percentage of the yearly total.
In the midst of the Great Recession, people cut back on nonessential holiday spending, and end-of-the-year purchases took a significant hit.
This seasonal trend is robust enough that it’s visible in our economy beyond just end-of-the-year retail shopping and food.
Americans’ ability to spend their way through the darkest months of the year is a key component in the health of the economy.
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ust