After a good start to the 2018 holiday selling season, December sales fell flat. Year-over-year (YOY) sales improved just 1.1 percent from December 2017, and overall holiday sales finished just 2.6 percent above 2017. Retailers felt the impact to their gross margin line and now face potential inventory issues due to lower-than-expected December sales. Thus far in 2019, store closures have already exceeded 2018 totals, and several major retailers have filed for bankruptcy.