Despite deep discounting, retailers failed to lure in buyers this holiday season, with sales falling across most categories.

According to MasterCard’s SpendingPulse unit retail sales excluding cars, fell 5.5% in November and 8% in December through Christmas Eve, compared to last year.  A measure of holiday spending from the International Council of Shopping Centers is expected to report a 1.5% to 2% decline from last year, resulting in the worst season since 1969, reported the Associated Press. 

Excluding gasoline sales, retail sales fell 2.5% in November and 4% in December, according to SpendingPulse.

Heading into the holiday season, retailers were already bracing for a bad selling season. As a result, many retailers kept inventory low and pulled out the sales earlier than in years past. The full impact the economy had on retail sales this year won’t be known until retailers start reporting results later in January.  Retailers remaining hope is that after holiday sales will drive consumers to the stores. 

Many retailers opened their doors early Friday and are offering even deeper discounts like 75% off toys, furniture, electronics and clothing. JC Penney (JCP) opened its doors at 5:30 a.m. Friday and offered more than 100 doorbuster specials until 1:00 p.m. JC Penney was even offering free wake-up calls for consumers. Sears opened at 7:00 a.m. and had its fair share of doorbusters. Toys R Us is reducing prices on some items by as much as 60%, while Kmart is cutting prices on necessities.

The National Retail Federation, the retail trade group, had forecasted 2.2% growth this year, compared to the 10-year average of 4.4%.  But analysts have said the forecast was optimistic and braced for sales to actually come in down in the low single percentage range.

Mary Delk, a director in the retail practice at consulting firm Deloitte, told The Wall Street Journal that this year “will go down as one of the worst holiday sales seasons on record.”

According to the SpendingPulse, luxury goods took the biggest hit this Holiday season with sales declining 21.2% compared with an increase of 7.5% last year. While luxury items are typically resilient, the economic downturn has been hitting wealthy consumers as well. If jewelry was included, the luxury sector saw a 34.5% decline in sales. Electronics and appliances fell a combined 26.7%, compared to a 2.7% gain last year -- while women’s apparel fell 22.7%, compared to a 2.4% increase in the year-ago period.