Retail Sales Up 1.2 Percent – Core Sale Up 0.4 Percent

In October, retail sales grew at a brisk pace of 1.2 percent, following an upwardly revised increase of 0.7 percent in September (previously reported as a 0.6 percent increase). This was the fourth consecutive monthly rise. Sales were given a strong jolt by the volatile autos component, which grew 5.0 percent over the month. However, even without auto sales included, sales were still solid. Core sales, which remove autos and gasoline rose by 0.4 percent. Most retail subcategories saw significant sales improvement in October. Electronics and furniture were the only notable areas of sales declines.

Jim Chessen, ABA Chief Economist noted, “Solid retail sales growth shows that consumers have become more confident as the stock and labor markets have shown improvement. In addition, the strong sales growth was led by autos, which would suggest an increase in the demand for consumer credit.”

From a year prior, sales were up 7.3 percent. Core sales, which exclude autos and gasoline, were up 5.2 percent from a year earlier. This was the highest annual rate of growth since before the recession.