Retail Sales Jump Nearly 1% as Weather Warms
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Monkey Business Images/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Retail sales are finally starting to thaw out now that spring is here.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that retail sales rose 0.9 percent in March after falling during the first two months of the year.
The increase was buoyed by jumps in both car sales and construction, 2.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Purchases of furniture (up 1.4 percent) and clothing (up 1.2 percent) also helped.
“We’re finally seeing consumers emerge from their winter hibernation and spend on big ticket items like vehicles, furniture and appliance purchases. We also saw them get back out to the malls and walk the malls a bit, buy some new spring clothing, and go out to eat,” says Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial.
“What they didn’t do is spend online or spend on food at the grocery store, which is a good sign actually, because it means we’re actually using that savings at the pump to spend on a little discretionary,” she adds.
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