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NEW YORK — Americans cut back on spending in December, the second consecutive month they’ve done so.

The retail holiday season is expected to be solid as economists and other experts say sales should increase between 6% and 8% over 2021’s record 14% increase from 2020. 

U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose in August after declining a month earlier, as consumer demand for goods broadly held up but showed signs of moderating amid historic inflation.

WASHINGTON — The pace of sales at U.S. retailers was unchanged last month as persistently high inflation and rising interest rates forced many households to spend more cautiously.

Retail sales were stronger than expected in June, but after several economists adjusted the data for inflation, they still point to a leveling off in spending.

Target Corp. plunged the most since 1987’s Black Monday crash after becoming the second big retailer in two days to trim its profit forecast.

U.S. retail sales picked up in March, helped by a surge in gas station receipts that masked mixed results in other large spending categories as consumers contend with decades-high inflation.

NEW YORK — Americans overlooked shortages, spiking prices and uncertainty over the omicron variant to break spending records during the critical holiday shopping season. But figures released Jan. 14 show that after spending robustly early in the holiday season, consumers sharply slowed their purchases from November to December.

Holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years, even as shoppers grappled with higher prices, product shortages and a raging new COVID-19 variant in the last few weeks of the season, according to one spending measure.

Target is an early winner of the U.S. holiday shopping season. The big-box chain increased sales approximately 10% in November, according to Bloomberg Second Measure, which analyzes anonymized U.S. consumer transactions to measure revenue.