Key Points:
- Retail sales, a measure of purchases at stores, restaurants and online, rose by 1.7% in October over the month.
- Consensus among economists was a 1.4% increase.
- Excluding autos, retail sales rose by 1.7% over the month.
- Higher spending in part reflects rising costs because consumer prices advanced 0.9% in October from September and 6.2% from a year earlier.
- The Right Facts will continue to monitor retail sales.