U.S. Retail Sales Rise for the Fourth Straight Month in December
Summary
- December total retail sales +0.4% (+3.9% y/y), w/ m/m rises in most categories.
- Ex-auto sales +0.4% (+2.9% y/y); auto sales +0.7% (+8.4% y/y).
- Rebounds in miscellaneous store sales (+4.3%) and sporting goods store sales (+2.6%).
- Drops in building materials & garden equipt. store sales (-2.0%) and restaurant & drinking place sales (-0.3%).
Total retail sales increased a less-than-expected 0.4% m/m in December after an upwardly revised rises of 0.8% in November (+0.7% initially) and 0.6% in October (+0.5% previously), data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed. The December m/m reading was the fourth consecutive m/m gain and the fifth in six months. A 0.6% m/m December increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The year-on-year rate decelerated to 3.9% in December from 4.1% in November. The latest y/y figure, below 5.2% in December 2023, was also lower than a high of 17.1% in February 2022 and significantly below a peak of 52.5% in April 2021. During all of 2024, retail sales rose 2.6% after gaining 3.6% in 2023 and 9.1% in 2022.
Excluding motor vehicles & parts, retail sales rose 0.4% (2.9% y/y) in December after an unrevised 0.2% increase in November, registering the fourth successive m/m rise and the sixth in seven months. A 0.5% m/m December increase had been expected. Sales of motor vehicles & parts grew 0.7% (8.4% y/y), the fourth straight m/m gain, on top of a 3.1% November increase; this compared to a 3.1% rise (7.2% y/y) in unit light vehicle sales following a 3.0% November increase.
Sales in the retail control group, which excludes autos, building materials, gasoline stations, and food services, rose 0.7% (4.1% y/y) in December, up for the third month in four, following a 0.4% rise in November. These sales are used in the construction of personal consumption expenditures in NIPA accounts. Nonauto sales excluding gasoline & building materials grew 0.5% (3.8% y/y), the fourth consecutive m/m gain, after a 0.3% November increase.
Sales by category were mostly positive in December. Miscellaneous store sales jumped 4.3% (3.7% y/y) in December, the first m/m gain since September, reversing a 3.9% drop in November. Sporting goods, hobby shop, book & music store sales rose 2.6% (1.8% y/y), the first m/m rise in three months, following a 0.3% November decline. Furniture & home furnishing store sales advanced 2.3% (8.4% y/y), the eighth m/m gain in nine months, on top of a 1.3% November increase. Clothing & accessory store sales rebounded 1.5% (2.4% y/y), the third m/m gain in four months, following a 0.8% November drop. Gasoline station sales rose 1.5% (-1.2% y/y) in December after rising 0.2% in the prior two months. Electronics & appliance store sales rose 0.4% (5.8% y/y), the third straight m/m rise, after a 0.9% November increase. General merchandise store sales rose 0.3% (2.6% y/y), up for the third month in four, after holding steady in November; within this grouping, department store sales edged up 0.1% (-1.8% y/y) after falling 0.4% in November and October. Nonstore retail sales grew 0.2% (6.0% y/y), the third m/m increase in four months, after a 1.7% November gain.
To the downside, building materials & garden equipment store sales slid 2.0% (-1.8% y/y), the third consecutive m/m slide, on top of a 0.8% November decrease.
In the nondiscretionary sales categories, health & personal care store sales fell 0.2% (+3.4% y/y) in December, down for the second month in three, following a 0.3% increase in November. Food & beverage store sales, however, rose 0.8% (3.1% y/y), the third m/m rise in four months, reversing a 0.2% November decline.
Consumers seemed to eat out less frequently in December amid still-high inflation (December CPI +0.4% m/m, +2.9% y/y; core CPI +0.2% m/m, +3.2% y/y). Restaurant & drinking place sales fell 0.3% (+2.4% y/y) in December, the first m/m fall since March 2024, following an upwardly revised 0.1% uptick in November (-0.4% initially).
Retail sales data can be found in Haver’s USECON database. The expectations figures are from the Action Economic Forecast Survey in AS1REPNA.
Winnie Tapasanun
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Winnie Tapasanun has been working for Haver Analytics since 2013. She has 20+ years of working in the financial services industry. As Vice President and Economic Analyst at Globicus International, Inc., a New York-based company specializing in macroeconomics and financial markets, Winnie oversaw the company’s business operations, managed financial and economic data, and wrote daily reports on macroeconomics and financial markets. Prior to working at Globicus, she was Investment Promotion Officer at the New York Office of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) where she wrote monthly reports on the U.S. economic outlook, wrote reports on the outlook of key U.S. industries, and assisted investors on doing business and investment in Thailand. Prior to joining the BOI, she was Adjunct Professor teaching International Political Economy/International Relations at the City College of New York. Prior to her teaching experience at the CCNY, Winnie successfully completed internships at the United Nations. Winnie holds an MA Degree from Long Island University, New York. She also did graduate studies at Columbia University in the City of New York and doctoral requirements at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her areas of specialization are international political economy, macroeconomics, financial markets, political economy, international relations, and business development/business strategy. Her regional specialization includes, but not limited to, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Winnie is bilingual in English and Thai with competency in French. She loves to travel (~30 countries) to better understand each country’s unique economy, fascinating culture and people as well as the global economy as a whole.
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