The US Commerce Department said retail sales dropped 1.9 percent in December compared to the previous month. It was the first drop in five months.

Retail sales for December totaled 626.8 billion dollars. The figure is far lower than economists had been expecting. A surge in coronavirus cases driven by the Omicron variant had an impact on shopping during the holiday season.

Spending fell across a variety of sectors. Online sales dropped more than 8 percent and those at department stores fell 7 percent. Restaurants and bars saw a decline of 0.8 percent.

However, consumers actually spent more over the entire year. Retail sales rose by a full 19 percent compared to 2020.