Retail sales rose for the fourth consecutive month in November, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau released on Wednesday. However, these numbers are considered underwhelming in light of October’s gains and the typical annual rise in sales for the month of November. November’s retail growth constituted a total of 0.3 percent, a fraction of October’s growth of 1.8 percent. This slackening of growth is attributable to a number of factors, namely the early onset of this year’s Christmas shopping season, rising costs of consumer goods, and persistent fears concerning the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. “Retail sales growth slowed considerably in November. I see this more as a sign that Americans started their holiday shopping early, as opposed to bad news for retailers,” said bankrate senior industry analyst Ted Rossman in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times. “Even though November 2021 sales were only …