Updated: 15-Nov-24 09:43 ET

October Retail Sales

Updated: 15-Nov-24 09:43 ET

Highlights

• Total retail sales increased 0.4% month-over-month in October (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) following an upwardly revised 0.8% increase (from 0.4%) in September.
• Excluding autos, retail sales increased 0.1% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%) following an upwardly revised 1.0% increase (from 0.5%) in September.

Key Factors

• Motor vehicles and parts dealers sales increased 1.6% month-over-month following a 0.2% increase in September.
• Gasoline station sales edged up 0.1% month-over-month following a 0.9% decline in September.
• Food and beverage store sales rose 0.1% month-over-month following a 1.0% increase in September.
• Clothing and clothing accessories store sales fell 0.2% month-over-month following a 0.9% increase in September.
• Furniture and home furnishing store sales declined 1.3% month-over-month following a 0.7% increase in September.

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from the report is that the upward revisions for September make the October results better than they appear since the growth is coming on top of a higher base. With month-over-month increases for nonstore retailers (+0.3%), food services and drinking places (+0.7%), electronics and appliance stores (+2.3%), and building materials and garden equipment and supplies dealers (+0.5%), it is clear that the consumer continues to embrace discretionary spending activity.

Category	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL	JUN
Retail Sales	0.4%	0.8%	-0.1%	1.2%	-0.3%
Excluding Autos	0.1%	1.0%	-0.1%	0.5%	0.5%
Durable goods
Building Materials	0.5%	1.0%	0.3%	0.9%	1.5%
Autos/parts	1.6%	0.2%	-0.3%	4.4%	-3.6%
Furniture	-1.3%	0.7%	-0.1%	1.5%	0.6%
Nondurable goods
General Merchandise	0.2%	0.6%	-0.3%	0.8%	0.0%
Food	0.1%	1.0%	-0.4%	0.9%	0.2%
Gasoline stations	0.1%	-0.9%	-0.9%	0.5%	-2.1%
Clothing	-0.2%	0.9%	-0.9%	0.2%	0.1%
e*retailing/non-store	0.3%	1.7%	0.0%	-0.3%	2.3%