Sales growth slowed sharply for non-food products (3.9% vs 22.7% in November) and to a lesser extent, automotive fuel (6% vs 8.9), while sales of food went up at a faster pace (1.6% vs 0.1%).

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales fell by 1%, after an upwardly revised 1.1% decline in the prior month.

Considering 2021 as a whole, retail sales rose by 4.4% from 2020.