Highlights of the advance retail sales report for February
- Prior was -0.3% (revised to -0.1%)
- Ex autos +0.3% vs +0.3% exp
- Prior ex autos 0.0% (revised to +0.1%)
- Ex auto and gas +0.3% vs +0.3% exp
- Prior ex auto and gas -0.2% (revised to -0.1%)
- Control group +0.1% vs +0.4% exp
- Prior control group 0.0% (unrevised)
Soft report and it was the third straight month of declines despite an upward revision to January data. It was the first time retail sales have fallen in three straight months since April 2012 but it comes after a strong Q4 and better data is expected after the tax cut.
Details:
What jumps out is 'non-store retailers' which is online shopping. That category rose 1.0% on the month and 10.1% year-over-year. You have to wonder how much of that spending at Amazon is taking away from spending elsewhere -- or will in the future.
