US shoppers pulled back sharply on retail spending in February, but a broader economic recovery appears to be accelerating this spring amid the waning pandemic and another round of government stimulus.
Retail sales – a measure of in-store, restaurant and online purchases – fell 3% in February from the previous month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. The decline followed robust January sales driven by stimulus payments to households and other consequences of December’s pandemic relief package. January sales were up a revised 7.6%, compared to the earlier estimate of an increase of 5.3%.
“The February data is in the context of the rise in consumer spending on goods in January,” said Ryan Wang, US economist at HSBC. “In a way, even a modest decline would significantly increase consumer spending, especially on goods, since the turn of the year.”
According to the Department of Commerce, retail sales are up 6% in the last three months compared to the same period a year ago.
February sales fell broadly as consumers spent less on cars, furniture, electronics, home improvement, healthcare and clothing. Sales at food and beverage stores were unchanged, while sales at gas stations increased strongly, by 3.6%, as gas prices accelerated this year.