Tag: retail sales

Five Things to Watch For in February’s Retail Sales Report

The U.S. Census Bureau releases its February advance retail sales report on Monday. Major economists predict on average a gain of about 0.2% from January’s numbers. January’s report showed that the U.S. economy was still growing slowly compared to a year earlier. But if February’s data fails to meet expectations, […]

Five Things to Watch in March Retail Sales

This morning the Commerce Department will publish its count of all the retail products and services sold in March. Here are five things to look for when the numbers are released at 8:30 EDT. 1. Auto sales will accelerate… but not too fast Motor vehicle sales are 20 percent of […]

Rearview Mirror

Auto Sales Keep Retail Economy in Reverse

Soft auto sales dragged down overall retail sales in February and consumers did not spend enough to pick up the slack. Retail sales decreased by one-tenth of a percent from January, according to Commerce Department figures released Wednesday, to a seasonally adjusted $447.31 billion. January retail sales were also one-tenth […]

Consumers Remain Unfazed by Higher Gas Prices

With retail sales the highest they’ve been in five months, rising gasoline prices don’t seem to be fazing consumers, yet. Retail sales rose 1.1% in February, in line with economists’ expectations. Though higher gasoline prices accounted for some of the increase in spending, retail sales in February were still very […]

Retail Sales Up, Car Sales Down

Retail sales rose 0.4% in January, well below expectations in a sign that the economy isn’t recovering quite as quickly as economists would like to think. Since automakers had reported an increase in unit sales earlier in the month, the 1.3% drop in motor vehicle sales was the biggest surprise […]

Retail Sales Slip Following Holiday Season

Retail sales fell in January, as a slow job market and rising gas prices kept consumers out of stores following the holiday season. The advanced estimates for the United States retail and food service sales for January were $381.6 billion, an increase of 0.3 percent from the previous month, according […]