As per usual, the holiday season was flush for both brick-and-mortar store operations and online retailers. However, in January, it seems that shoppers are deciding to take a break.

While there is nothing strange about consumers saving more in January following holiday-related surges, a recent article from the Fox Small Business Center suggests that this year the "hibernation" may be a bit deeper.

One factor may be an increase on charging this season. As consumers felt more confident, they were more willing to pay for items using credit, assuming they would have the finances to cover themselves when the bill came.

Britt Beemer, chair of America's Research Group, told the source that credit usage was up 25 percent compared to last year. "Now that those credit card bills are hitting mailboxes, shoppers will cut back in a very significant way relative to January and February of the last few years," Beemer added.

However, recent news in the employment sector may mitigate the drop. Last month, the U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs, dropping the unemployment rate to 8.5 percent. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 at 1:42 am .