It's certainly not the news they were hoping for, especially after several months of gains, but Canadian merchants were dealt a blow with the sharp decline in retail sales throughout December. These findings come amid other problems businesses in the country are facing, including price competition with American retailers just across the border.

Bloomberg reports that the latest findings from Statistics Canada revealed that during the last month of 2012, retail sales dropped 2.1 percent from November, representing a total sales volume of $38.6 billion. This decrease followed five months of retail sales gains, the news source notes. This is troubling news for Canada's economy, which has been struggling to pull itself out of a recession.

Another issue that Canadian merchants are dealing with is the price competitions between themselves and American competitors. The Globe and Mail states that many Canadian consumers are going across the border to take advantage of cheaper products sold by U.S.-based retailers. This is putting a strain on the northern nation's companies, and they are trying to figure out how to make their prices more fair for customers, the news source reports.