Retail sales rose in January, driven by strength in discount retailers and online merchants, according to a U.S. government report Friday.
The Commerce Department said total retail sales edged up 0.5% to $355.8 billion U.S. last month, compared with December's revised decline of 0.1%. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had anticipated that January sales would grow 0.3%.
The year-to-year increase was more impressive. January retail sales jumped 4.7%, compared to the same month in 2009.
Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, and related reports such as retail sales are used to gauge whether a recovery is underway.
Sales excluding autos and auto parts rose 0.6% last month. A consensus of economists had projected ex-auto sales to rise 0.5% in January.
Non-store sales, which include online retailers, jumped 1.6% last month, following a 2.2% increase in December.
General merchandise store sales rose 1.5% in January, rebounding from a 1.1% drop in the prior month, and department store sales were up 0.2% after a 0.4% decline in December.
In a separate report earlier this month, sales tracker Thomson Reuters, which looks at monthly same-store sales for 30 chains including Costco and Target, said January sales rose 3.3%, beating analyst expectations.
The University of Michigan will release its preliminary consumer sentiment index for January later Friday. The index is expected to rise to 75, according to a Briefing.com consensus, from the prior month's index of 74.4.
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