The National Retail Federation, which had forecast retail sales to rise 4.1 percent this holiday season, estimated total sales rose 4 percent to $616 billion.
The data fell slightly short of the NRF'S predictions but was in line with estimates by other groups that projected 3.5 to 4 percent growth.
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday December retail sales fell 0.9 percent from November, seasonally adjusted, but were up 3.2 percent unadjusted from a year earlier. Gasoline prices fell sharply in December.
"It is important to recognize that December is a very difficult month to adjust for seasonal forces because of holiday spending and this could explain in part this month's volatility," said NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz.
The NRF said December retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, increased 4.6 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
The holiday season, which typically generates about 30 percent of sales and nearly 40 percent of profit for retailers, this year saw a weak Black Friday weekend and a slow Super Saturday, the weekend before Christmas. Sales, however, picked up in the final stretch of December aided by the plunge in gas prices, industry officials said.
A strong weekend after Christmas, aided by a spike in gift card redemptions, also boosted overall spending, payment processor First Data said.
Non-store holiday sales, an indicator of online and e-commerce sales, grew 6.8 percent to $101.9 billion, the NRF said.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose; Editing by James Dalgleish)
