December retail sales were so dismal that even mighty Wal-Mart fell short, making it all but certain it was the worst holiday season in four decades.The malaise cut through practically all areas, from kitchen gadget stores to apparel retailers, as shoppers, grappling with tightening credit and rising layoffs, focused on smaller purchases and the deepest discounts.Even drugstores were feeling the pain. Walgreen Co. said it will cut 1,000 jobs this year, or about 9 percent of corporate management, through a combination of voluntary buyouts and layoffs. The International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs overall tally of same-store sales dropped 1.7 percent for December. That was worse than the already reduced estimate for a 1 percent decline in sales at chain stores.It also means that same-store sales for the November-December period dropped 2.2 percent, making it the weakest holiday period since at least 1969, when the index began.
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