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Retail Sales up in February despite Snowstorms
Despite major snowstorms that blanketed various parts of
the country – particularly the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
states – retail sales grew in February, a signal that the
nascent economic recovery is picking up momentum. The
Commerce Department said retail sales grew 0.3% in February,
compared to January, despite a 2% decline in auto sales.
Excluding autos, sales climbed 0.8% - with gains posted by
various sectors, including department stores, furniture
stores, apparel chains and electronics and appliance
outlets. Compared to February 2009, when the recession was
raging, sales climbed 3.9%. Moreover, in what points to a
solid holiday and post holiday season, retail sales climbed
4.5% from December 2009 through February 2010, compared to
the same period a year earlier. The only downside to the
report was that the February sales gain followed a
downwardly revised 0.1% increase in January, which had
originally been reported as a 0.5% increase.
The government report showed that sales at general
merchandise stores, the category that includes department
stores and big discounters such as Walmart and Target,
advanced 1% in February after a 1.3% gain in January. Sales
at department stores (apart from discounters) increased 1.1%
while sales at apparel chains advanced 0.6%. Sales at
electronics and appliance stores shot up 3.7% while sales at
hardware stores rose by 0.5%. Sales at furniture chains
climbed 0.7%, while sales at building material outlets grew
0.5%. Sales at gasoline stations posted a 0.3% increase.
Sales also grew 1.2% at sporting goods, book and music
stores, but dipped 0.7% at health and personal care stores.
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Date Last Updated: 03/17/2010
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