Household spending on manufactured goods ended the first quarter on a surprisingly weak note. A 1.2 percent monthly drop followed February's marginally shallower revised 1.0 percent decline and made for the first back-to-back drop since March/April 2022. Annual growth was little changed at minus 3.9 percent but the shortfall with the pre-pandemic level in February 2020 widened to some 5.3 percent.

March's monthly slide reflected a 2.2 percent fall in durables within which transport equipment slumped 3.7 percent and household durables decreased 0.4 percent. Textiles and clothing also shed 0.4 percent and other engineered goods 0.2 percent. Elsewhere, food (minus 2.4 percent) similarly declined again but energy (0.3 percent) was marginally firmer. Consequently, overall goods spending fell 1.3 percent following a 0.3 percent contraction in February.

The March data mean that total goods spending in the first three months of the year fell 0.2 percent on the quarter and played a key part in restraining overall economic growth. Moreover, looking ahead, consumer confidence remains close to its all-time low and buying intentions this month saw their weakest level since May 2020 in the midst of the pandemic. Accordingly, the near-term outlook for retailers would still seem fairly grim. However, for now, with the French ECDI at 7 and the ECDI-P at exactly zero, overall economic activity is performing much as markets expected.

Spending is seen edging up 0.2 percent on the month after a surprisingly steep 1.1 percent drop in February.

Consumption of manufactured goods by consumers is an indicator of consumer spending for household durable goods such as autos and furniture. The data are released separately as part of the report on total goods spending.

This indicator is a measure of retail sales and is unique to France. It measures consumer spending for household durable goods such as autos and furniture. The data are seasonally and workday adjusted. These adjustments eliminate the fluctuations that are solely due to changes in the number of working days. The data appear to be particularly sensitive to the number of worked Saturdays. With consumer spending a large part of the economy, market players continually monitor spending patterns. Retail sales are a measure of consumer well-being.

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.