Retailers had a solid November. Following a shallower revised 2.3 percent monthly drop in October, volume sales rebounded 1.5 percent, their third increase in the last four months. The rise boosted annual growth from minus 2.6 percent to minus 1.3 percent, just on the firm side of the market consensus.

November's partial recovery was largely attributable to a 2.8 percent bounce in sales of non-food, excluding auto fuel. However, even this failed to fully reverse October's 3.0 percent slump. Food, drink and tobacco saw a much more modest 0.6 percent gain while auto fuel was up 0.8 percent, extending the unbroken sequence of gains seen since July.

Today's update puts average overall volume sales in October and November 1.0 percent below their mean level in the third quarter. Absent any revisions, this leaves December needing at least a 2.3 percent monthly rise if the retail sector is not to subtract from fourth quarter GDP growth. Still, the November data at least lift the Swiss ECDI (3) and ECDI-P (13) back into positive surprise territory, albeit only to the extent that indicates overall economic activity is broadly matching market expectations.

Annual sales growth is seen at minus 1.5 percent in November.

Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell durable and nondurable goods. The survey comprises around 4,000 companies with the small-sized firms asked to provide monthly turnover data on a quarterly basis. Statistics are provided in both nominal and volume measures; the latter is the more important for financial markets. The headline figure is the annual growth in sales volumes adjusted for differences in trading days. Seasonally adjusted monthly changes are also provided. Details are limited in the first estimate but a more complete picture is provided with the following month's release.

Consumer spending accounts for a large portion of the economy, so if you know what consumers are up to, you will have a pretty good idea on where the economy is headed. Needless to say, that is a big advantage for investors. The pattern in consumer spending is often the foremost influence on stock and bond markets. For stocks, strong economic growth translates to healthy corporate profits and higher stock prices. For bonds, the focus is whether economic growth goes overboard and leads to inflation. Ideally, the economy walks that fine line between strong growth and excessive (inflationary) growth. Retail sales not only give you a sense of the big picture, but also the trends among different types of retailers. Perhaps auto sales are especially strong or apparel sales are showing exceptional weakness. These trends from the retail sales data can help you spot specific investment opportunities, without having to wait for a company's quarterly or annual report.