Updated: 14-Feb-25 09:22 ET
| January Retail Sales |
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| Updated: 14-Feb-25 09:22 ET |
Highlights
- Retail sales declined 0.9% month-over-month in January (Briefing.com consensus 0.0%) following an upwardly revised 0.7% increase (from 0.4%) in December.
- Excluding autos, retail sales declined 0.4% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) following an upwardly revised 0.7% increase (from 0.4%) in December.
Key Factors
- Motor vehicles and parts dealers sales decreased 2.8% month-over-month following a 0.9% increase in December.
- Gasoline station sales rose 0.9% month-over-month following a 2.1% increase in December.
- Food and beverage store sales decreased 0.1% month-over-month following a 1.0% increase in December.
- Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers sales declined 1.3% month-over-month following a 1.6% decline in December.
- Clothing and clothing accessories store sales fell 1.2% month-over-month following a 1.1% increase in December.
- Furniture and home furnishing store sales dropped 1.7% month-over-month following a 1.9% increase in December.
- Nonstore retailer sales declined 1.9% month-over-month following a 0.6% increase in December.
- Food services and drinking places sales rose 0.9% month-over-month following a 0.1% increase in December.
Big Picture
- The key takeaway from the report is that there was a notable pullback in spending on goods, something that can be attributed in part to abnormal weather. The full picture, however, points to a tired consumer after the holidays, raising the question as to whether that fatigue will persist because of inflation pressures or prove to be short-lived.
| Category | JAN | DEC | NOV | OCT | SEP |
| Retail Sales | -0.9% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.9% |
| Excluding Autos | -0.4% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 1.0% |
| Durable goods | |||||
| Building Materials | -1.3% | -1.6% | -0.7% | -0.3% | 1.1% |
| Autos/parts | -2.8% | 0.9% | 3.1% | 2.2% | 0.6% |
| Furniture | -1.7% | 1.9% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.1% |
| Nondurable goods | |||||
| General Merchandise | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.7% |
| Food | -0.1% | 1.0% | -0.1% | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Gasoline stations | 0.9% | 2.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | -1.4% |
| Clothing | -1.2% | 1.1% | -0.6% | 1.1% | 0.8% |
| e*retailing/non-store | -1.9% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 2.1% |
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