Retail sales showed a strong beginning for the year in January, down slightly from December’s busy holiday spending and rising significantly year over year, according to a report from the National Retail Federation (NRF).
“January sales continued the strong performance of retail sales in December, which is impressive coming off a record holiday season,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a release. “More importantly, year-over-year growth was solid, showing consumers are still optimistic and willing to act on the spending power brought by growing employment and wages.”
Total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were down just 0.16% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 2.34% unadjusted year over year in January, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions. That compared with increases of 0.44% month over month and 3.07% year over year in December.
The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales – excluding restaurants in addition to autos and gas – was down a slim 0.04% month over month and up 3.24% year over year in January. That compared with increases of 0.19% month over month and 2.4 year over year in December.
