Global| Apr 14 2017U.S. Retail Sales Decline in Both February and March
Summary
Total retail sales and spending at restaurants fell 0.2% (5.2% y/y) in March following a 0.3% decrease in February; that was revised from +0.1% reported initially. The Action Economics Forecast Survey anticipated that March sales [...]
Total retail sales and spending at restaurants fell 0.2% (5.2% y/y) in March following a 0.3% decrease in February; that was revised from +0.1% reported initially. The Action Economics Forecast Survey anticipated that March sales would be unchanged.
Sales at motor vehicles & parts dealers dropped 1.2% in March (+5.6% y/y) after a 1.5% fall in February, which was revised from a 0.2% decrease. Separate data show that unit sales of light vehicles dropped 5.4% in March. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales were unchanged in March (5.4% y/y) and had also been unchanged in February; February was revised down from +0.2%. The March result was less than the Action Economics consensus forecast of a 0.2% increase.
Sales at gasoline service stations fell 1.0% (14.3% y/y). This decrease accompanies a 6.2% fall in gasoline prices measured by the CPI. Those sales had declined 0.3% in February. Retail sales excluding both auto dealers & gas stations edged higher 0.1% in March (4.1% y/y), the same size move as in February.
In nonauto discretionary spending categories, furniture store sales fell 0.3% in March (2.9% y/y) after February's 1.5% decrease. Building materials & hardware also fell, by 1.5% (6.3% y/y), a downturn from February's 2.6% gain. Sporting goods store sales were off 0.8% (-3.8% y/y) after February's 0.4% rise. By contrast, electronics & appliance store sales rebounded 2.6% (-0.7% y/y) from a 1.9% drop in February. Clothing store sales also improved in March, by 1.0% (0.3% y/y) after a steep 2.7% drop in February. General merchandise store sales rose 0.3% (0.9% y/y) following a 0.4% decrease.
In the non-discretionary spending categories, health & personal care store sales edged higher 0.1% (5.7% y/y) in March, following February's 0.9% rise. Food & beverage store sales rose 0.5% (3.6% y/y) after being unchanged in February.
Nonstore retailers' sales were up 0.6% (11.9% y/y), after a similar 0.6% rise in February. These include online shopping and mail order outlets; they were about 10.6% of total retail sales in March.
Sales at food service & drinking places fell 0.6% (2.8% y/y) in March; they had been down 0.3% in February, which was revised from a 0.1% decrease reported before.
The retail sales data can be found in Haver's USECON database. The Action Economics forecast expectations are included in the AS1REPNA database.
| Retail Spending (%) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Mar Y/Y | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Retail Sales & Food Services | -0.2 | -0.3 | 0.5 | 5.2 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 4.2 |
| Excluding Autos | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 3.7 |
| Non-Auto Less Gasoline | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.6 |
| Retail Sales | -0.2 | -0.3 | 0.4 | 5.5 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 4.0 |
| Motor Vehicle & Parts | -1.2 | -1.5 | -1.6 | 5.6 | 3.9 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| Retail Less Autos | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 5.4 | 2.6 | 0.2 | 3.3 |
| Gasoline Stations | -1.0 | -0.3 | 2.1 | 14.3 | -6.2 | -19.2 | -2.3 |
| Food Service & Drinking Places Sales | -0.6 | -0.3 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 5.9 | 8.1 | 6.1 |
Carol Stone, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Carol Stone, CBE came to Haver Analytics in 2003 following more than 35 years as a financial market economist at major Wall Street financial institutions, most especially Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities. She has broad experience in analysis and forecasting of flow-of-funds accounts, the federal budget and Federal Reserve operations. At Nomura Securites, among other duties, she developed various indicator forecasting tools and edited a daily global publication produced in London and New York for readers in Tokyo. At Haver Analytics, Carol is a member of the Research Department, aiding database managers with research and documentation efforts, as well as posting commentary on select economic reports. In addition, she conducts Ways-of-the-World, a blog on economic issues for an Episcopal-Church-affiliated website, The Geranium Farm. During her career, Carol served as an officer of the Money Marketeers and the Downtown Economists Club. She has a PhD from NYU's Stern School of Business. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has a weekend home on Long Island.
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