Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M) announced Wednesday comparable sales results for the months of November and December 2019.

November/December 2019 Comparable Sales:

The popular retailer reported marginal drop in holiday period same-store sales, surprising investors who were expecting a significantly sharper decline in sales after a previous warning provided by the Company.

“Macy’s, Inc.’s performance during the holiday season reflected a strong trend improvement from the third quarter. Our digital business and Growth150 stores performed well. Additionally, customers responded to our gifting assortment and marketing strategy, particularly in the 10 days before Christmas,” said Jeff Gennette, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “The entire organization committed to delivering Holiday 2019, and it showed up in our execution. I want to thank all of our colleagues – full-time, part-time and seasonal – for their hard work and dedication to serving our customers.”

Earlier in November, Macy’s cut its annual profit projections, which it has blames on weaker international tourism and weaker mall traffic. Macy’s is one of the first of the major retailers to report sales for the holiday season, by this setting expectations for the health of the U.S consumer spending metric.  

Macy’s is facing the same issues as many other retailers. Primarily, U.S consumers are spending more and more time purchasing online rather going to physical stores, and this includes the holiday season as well. According to Reuters, U.S. e-commerce sales in the period from Nov. 1 through Christmas Eve rose 18.8%, according to a Dec. 25, data by Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA), while overall holiday retail sales, excluding autos, rose just 3.4%.