Research Brief: Retail Sales – February 2024

Dual retail categories buck the larger trend. In January, for the first time since March of last year, core retail sales fell on a monthly basis, a reflection of more consumers avoiding big-ticket, discretionary purchases. The 0.5 percent decline in core spending, however, overshadowed sales at restaurants and bars, as well as grocery stores, which each rose in both real and nominal terms last month to record levels. Collectively, the two categories accounted for…

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