U.S. Retail Sales Strengthen in December; Non-auto Sales Firm
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Strength spans most categories.
- Online buying & clothing store sales log notable gains.
- Gasoline sales fall further with lower prices.
Consumer spending continues to rise as employment & income improve. Retail sales increased 0.6% during December following an unrevised 0.3% November gain and a 0.3% October fall, revised from -0.2%. A 0.4% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. During all of last year, retail sales rose 5.6% after increasing 5.8% in 2022. Retail sales excluding motor vehicles & parts improved 0.4% last month after increasing an unrevised 0.2% in November and easing 0.1% in October. A 0.2% rise in December sales had been expected. During all of last year, nonauto retail sales rose 4.5% following a 7.1% gain in 2022.
Showing greater improvement last month were sales in the retail group, which excludes autos, building materials, gasoline & restaurants. Sales increased 0.8% (5.6% y/y) after a 0.5% November rise, revised from a 0.4% gain. October’s 0.1% uptick was lifted from no change.
Last month’s overall sales increase was paced by a 1.5% strengthening (9.7% y/y) in online sales which followed a 1.2% November increase. Clothing & accessory store sales also increased 1.5% (4.3% y/y) after a 1.0% November improvement. General merchandise store sales rose 1.3% (3.3% y/y) after a 0.2% November slip. Within that group, department store sales surged 3.0% (-2.7% y/y) after three straight months of sharp decline. Motor vehicle & parts sales followed with a 1.1% increase (10.3% y/y) last month after they gained 0.8%. The rise compared to a 4.2% increase in unit motor vehicle sales. Building materials store sales improved 0.4% in December (-2.3% y/y) after easing 0.1%. Sporting goods, hobby shop, book & music store sales rose 0.3% last month (0.9% y/y) after a 1.4% November jump.
Offsetting these gains, furniture & home furnishings store sales fell 1.0% (-4.7% y/y) after rising 2.4% in November. Electronics & appliance store sales eased 0.3% (+10.7% y/y) following a 1.8% November decline. Gasoline service station sales fell 1.3% (-6.6% y/y) with lower prices, the third straight month of sharp decline.
Sales were weak in the nondiscretionary sales categories. Health & personal care store sales declined 1.4% in December (+10.7% y/y), after a 0.2% November easing. Food & beverage store sales edged 0.2% higher (1.3% y/y) for the second consecutive month.
Consumer spending at restaurants & drinking places held steady last month (+11.1% y/y) after rising 1.7% in November.
Retail Sales data can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figures are from the Action Economics Forecast Survey in AS1REPNA.
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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