In the two-month period leading up to Christmas, holiday retail sales grew at the slowest pace since the recessionary year of 2008, according to the MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse report.
The report said pre-Christmas sales increased only 0.7%, the lowest rate of growth since 2008, when holiday sales contracted.
Forecasters had expected 2012 holiday sales to grow by 3% to 4%, but even a solid Black Friday weekend and last-minute discounts could not overcome bad weather and uncertainty about the economy.
The latter factor is related to ongoing negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff, the combination of spending cuts and tax increases that will kick in Jan. 1 unless Congress and President Obama reach an agreement to avoid it.
Retailers count on a strong holiday season to produce the bulk of their annual sales.
