Shoppers Are Under Pressure. A Recession Could Be Next.

After two years of working overtime on delivering record-breaking holiday seasons, Santa Claus has had enough. If 2022’s holiday retail sales are anything to go by, the head of the North Pole has hopped on the quiet quitting bandwagon.

With holiday sales growing 6.7% from October to December, the guy in the red suit has likely done enough to reassure the market that the economy isn’t in total free fall, even though sales lagged behind the average rate of inflation of about 7.1% during the same period. But that’s about as good as it gets, as inflation and a weakening labor force crimped shoppers’ appetite to splurge.