It's not supprising that retail stores see an increase in business around the end of the year.  However, the retail business is a year long endevor; and sales spikes and troughs exist outside the holiday season.  Here we take a look at various retail sectors to try to identify variations in monthly sales figures.

All of the data is compiled based on figured obtained by the US Census Bureau, and as such is based on US retailers; such trends may vary widely outside the united states based on differences on a varity of factors such as climate and culture.  The data is broken down into 57 different retail sectors, ranging from Automotive Services to Office Supplies.

Generally speaking, minor peaks exist in the months of March, May, and August, with a major spike in December, with exceptions primarly in the automotive and building materials sectors.  The degree in which these spikes exist however, vary widely.