New report from Bloomberg points to yes.

Retails slumped in December, according to a new report published by Bloomberg.  Due to an almost 1% decline in purchases, followed by another 0.4% advance in November, this drop follows large gains in the start of the quarter signaling that consumer spending was still on the rise.

Continued decreases in the unemployment rate and wage growth seem to be encouraging consumers to spend some, but not as much as retailers had wished. 

“Maybe the optimism a month ago got a little too heated,” said Guy Berger, U.S. economist at RBS Securities Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut, who is among the best forecasters of retail sales over the past two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “It’s a weak number but it follows some really strong ones and I don’t think it changes my general feeling on how the economy and consumers are doing.”

Read more at Bloomberg.com