We made it past the last quarter of 2009, and now that the dust has settled, we’re staring straight down an open runway as this new year brings a first quarter without a major holiday sales drive, and an already vulnerable consumer base that has been plagued with a prolonged double-digit unemployment rate that threatens to make the retail industry a dangerous climate indeed.

A collective groan must have been uttered last week, as the Commerce Department released its report on December retail sales. Wall Street was desperately banking on an increase of 0.5% in sales for the holiday sales month, but US government agencies reported a disappointing negative 0.3% result. While analysts and industry executives were holding out for something better, the good news never came.

Some reasons for these uninspiring figures seem a bit contradictory at first glance. Retail inventories were reportedly put on a diet in December, which made things confusing for the ones doing the forecasting, but the general merchandise sector reported surprisingly strong sales volumes for the season. Where’s the merchandise being sold, if it wasn’t being ordered by retailers? In addition to the confusing inventory figures, there are many experts pointing out that the information is skewed by some heavy discounting that took place by retailers, electronics suppliers, and auto companies at the end of the year, which contribute to the surprisingly low numbers in their final inventories.

Some retailers are choosing to talk about the weather, and blaming poor sales performance on the snow. While this may hold some merit in light of the fact that a fierce winter did actually paralyze parts of the country, there are many who are calling for reforms in the retail industry’s reporting methods, since the upcoming spring season will bring fair skies… and perhaps stormier sales floor activity, when there’s no outside factors to point to as the cash registers simply stop ringing.

In spite of the overall negativity of the future outlook for the retail industry, the news is not all dismal. Online sales may come to the rescue, and those who are preparing for the new conditions that consumers will be laying down for retailers to take note of will be making note of the fact that a decline in employment and an erosion of disposable income doesn’t man that people stop buying… but it does mean that their behavior will change when they are ready to make a purchase. Where some consumers might have taken a quick drive to their preferred retailer, the relative ease and convenience of making the same purchase online may be the deal-breaker, as decisions are made at the virtual checkout line on their monitors.

There are other results from the fallout, after the economic dive of 2008 forced retailers to come up with solutions. Walgreen, the top US drugstore chain, made a decision to sell fewer holiday-themed items after watching consumers slow down on discretionary purchases for many months before the holiday rush. The company’s CEO Greg Wasson stated that “ Walgreen spent 28 percent less on seasonal items for comparable stores.” In addition, outbreaks of flu were lower than a year ago, which even affected sales of items such as over-the-counter medications and tissues, which comprise a large portion of winter sales for drugstores during the usual cold and flu seasons.

Perhaps the best news is that while retail sales in many areas dropped, there were some winners amongst those who slipped. Furniture sales and products in home goods stores got a small boost in December. Sporting goods rose about 1.5%, as did book and music stores. Sales at virtual retailers, such as online and catalog vendors, rose 1.4 percent. This gives hope to those who are working to build their online presence, especially as the retail industry’s pain is being felt… and signs of spring sales promotions are already appearing on many shelves.