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retail sales

CHART OF THE DAY: Holiday sales off to a sluggish start

Dec. 16, 2020 by Christopher Shaker and Seth Bacon

The holiday shopping season was off to a sluggish start in November as retail sales fell 1.1% compared to October, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday. It was the biggest drop in seven months and well below analysts’ estimates of a modest gain. Retailers were hoping for a strong holiday season to help carry them through to the other side of the ... READ MORE >

CHART OF THE DAY: Retail sales rose 0.3% in October, the slowest increase in six months

Nov. 17, 2020 by Seth Bacon

Retail sales in the United States grew at a 0.3% monthly rate in October, slower than analysts’ expectations of 0.5% and the slowest rate in six months. Yet there was still an increase for the month of 7.1% year over year overall and 5.3% year over year excluding autos, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. Some of the biggest gains in ... READ MORE >

Holiday sales to limp forward as pandemic weighs on economy

Oct. 19, 2020 by Joseph Brusuelas

Holiday spending is likely to advance at a tepid 0.5% pace as households still reeling from the pandemic pull back on traditional and experiential holiday outlays. This forecast is optimistic compared to the 4.6% decline in 2008, the last holiday season that took place during a recession. And it is analogous to the 2009 spending season, when purchases ... READ MORE >

CHART OF THE DAY: Retail sales surge, but for how long?

Oct. 16, 2020 by Christopher Shaker

Consumers opened their wallets in September as retail sales showed unexpected strength, rising by 1.9% over August for the fifth straight monthly gain, the Commerce Department reported on Friday. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a gain of 0.8% after the 0.6% increase in August. But this strength faces headwinds with the critical holiday ... READ MORE >

CHART OF THE DAY: Retail sales rise amid soft back-to-school spending

Sep. 16, 2020 by Seth Bacon

Retail sales grew for the fourth month in a row in August, but the expected lift from back-to-school spending was not as great as anticipated. Retail sales rose by 0.6% from July to August, and by 0.1% compared to a year ago, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday. Analysts had expected a 1% monthly gain. The muted bounce was most likely, in part, ... READ MORE >

Retail sales rose 7.5% in June as economies reopened

Jul. 16, 2020 by Christopher Shaker

June retail sales were strong for a second straight month, fueled by the reopening of economies across the country and the continuation of pent-up demand from lockdowns earlier in the year. Overall retail sales rose by 7.5% in June, which followed May's record 18.2% gain, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday. June's gains were heavily weighted ... READ MORE >

May retail sales soar, but will it continue?

Jun. 16, 2020 by Christopher Shaker

Retail sales soared by 17.7% in May, the biggest month-over-month increase on record, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. The May figures, which easily beat analysts’ estimates but are still below pre-pandemic levels, was most likely fueled by a combination of pent-up demand and stimulus checks received in late April and early May. While ... READ MORE >

U.S. retail sales: April really was the cruelest month

May. 15, 2020 by Joseph Brusuelas

John Maynard Keynes’ paradox of thrift is increasingly becoming a much larger part of the economic narrative in the United States as households prepare for an extended economic slowdown, elevated unemployment and loss of income. During March, the U.S. savings rate jumped to 13.1%, which did not bolster retail sales as Americans continued to shelter in ... READ MORE >

Amid chaos of coronavirus, food and beverage sector continues to adapt

Apr. 17, 2020 by Christopher Shaker, Karen Galivan and Peter Cadigan

The retail sales figures released this week painted a grim picture of consumer spending and the state of the economy amid the mounting human and economic toll of the coronavirus. But a deeper look at the data reveals some profound changes taking place that will most likely endure once the pandemic passes. While retail sales fell off the table with an 8.7% ... READ MORE >

Retail sales declined 8.7% in March, with more distress to come

Apr. 15, 2020 by Joseph Brusuelas

The condition of the American consumer is impaired and will be for some time. The combination of soaring unemployment and shelter-in-place policies across the economy sent U.S. retail sales down 8.7% in March. The core ex-autos number declined by 4.5%, while the ex-gasoline metric dropped by 8%, all of which point to what in the first six months of the ... READ MORE >

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About The Real Economy Blog

The Real Economy Blog from RSM US LLP was developed to provide timely economic insights about the middle market economy. It is offered as a complement to RSM’s macroeconomic thought leadership, including The Real Economy monthly publication and the proprietary RSM US Middle Market Business Index (MMBI).

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The Real Economy Blog
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