RETAIL SALES FALL 1% OVER THE MONTH, MISSING EXPECTATIONS

Key Points:

  • Retail sales, a measure of purchases at stores, restaurants and online, fell 1.0% in March from February after last month was revised to a 0.2% decline.
  • Consensus among economists was a 0.4% decline.
  • Excluding autos, retail sales also fell by 0.8% over the month.
  • Total sales for the January 2023 through March 2023 period were up 5.4% and 2.9% higher than March 2022.
  • The Right Facts will continue to monitor retail sales.
Source