Rodolfo Garcia, an assistant manager at a clothing store for young children, said he had expected the holiday shopping season to see weaker sales than usual.
"But we didn't expect it to be so bad," he said.
December sales were about 8 to 10 percent behind the same month a year earlier, Garcia said.
"People were not shopping as much as they did in previous years, even with our promotions," said Garcia, who works at The Children's Place in the South Bay Galleria. "They were really bargain hunting, checking out prices at different stores."
Garcia's problems were the same at retailers nationwide, which suffered the worst holiday season in 40 years. Now retailers face more sales declines in the months ahead as the recession deepens, job losses mount and consumers retrench further.
Retail sales plunged 2.7 percent in December, a record sixth straight monthly fall, and the first annual drop on government records dating to 1992, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Last month's weakness -- more than double what economists had expected -- has extended into the new year with bankruptcy filings, store closings and more layoffs.
Throughout the South Bay, the recession has led to closures at retailers that sell such items as furniture and flowers, clothing and party supplies.
At Riviera Village, the Redondo Beach retail site filled with posh boutique stores two blocks from the beach, several stores were empty with lease signs in the windows after closing in the past few months.
At Wrapsody, a Riviera Village seller of greeting cards, invitations and gifts, owner Wendy Metcalfe saw December sales fall 7 to 8 percent compared to the previous year.
"It wasn't like Christmases of the past. It's definitely a different time," Metcalfe said. "At first, it seemed awful. It got a slow start with Thanksgiving coming so late."
Metcalfe said that a surge in shoppers in the last two weeks before Christmas helped keep her December sales from an even worst performance.
Rick Rotter, manager of Pacific Spas, described December sales as "bad, just very bad."
The seller of spas on Hawthorne Boulevard in Torrance saw a 60 percent drop in sales last month compared to a year earlier, Rotter said.
"This is a high-end luxury ticket," Rotter said. "It's not a necessity, and people are just afraid to let go of money."
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