Retail sales tumble much more than expected in January

[mystery-ak]

Published February 15, 2024 8:42am EST | Updated February 15, 2024 9:47am EST

Retail sales tumble much more than expected in January
Retail sales fall sharply in January to lowest level in nearly a year

By Megan Henney FOXBusiness

Americans pumped the brakes on spending in January after the pivotal holiday season as they continued to confront high interest rates and steeper prices for everyday goods.

Retail sales, a measure of how much consumers spent on a number of everyday goods including cars, food and gasoline, tumbled 0.8% in January, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That is lower than both the 0.1% decline projected by Refinitiv economists and the revised 0.4% increase recorded in December.

It marks the worst month for retail sales since March 2023.

Excluding the more volatile measurements of gasoline and autos, sales fell 0.5% last month.

The January advance is not adjusted for inflation, meaning that consumers may be spending the same but getting less bang for their buck.

Spending declined mostly across the board, with notable drops in sales at building materials and garden stores, miscellaneous stores, motor vehicle parts and retailers, as well as gas stations, as prices at the pump fell during the month. Americans also pulled back their spending when online shopping, with spending at non-store retailers sliding 0.8% from the previous month.

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https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/retail-sales-tumble-much-more-than-expected-january

[roamer_1]

People can barely afford food, no wonder retail sales have tumbled.  It's just starting....

That's right. It is just starting. But it has to happen. The only thing that stops inflation is interest going higher than the inflation rate. That stops lending. That causes business to tighten up. That causes the people to tightn up.

It is a natural, forced austerity... And believe it or not, it's a good thing.

The other way is to lower interest, and keep printing money, until the bottom falls out, and austerity is forced another way. One way or another a whole bunch of money needs to go up in smoke to level out the currency.

All that's left to understand is how bad it will get. Who knows? But pretty bad, I think.

[berdie]

I'm sure no economist, but isn't it logical that retail sales would be less after the holidays? Especially in today's economy.