Retail sales were surprisingly soft in mid-quarter. However, a 0.1 percent monthly dip followed an upwardly revised 0.8 percent rise in January and was only the second fall since last September. The February report leaves a still rising trend although negative base effects helped to cut annual workday adjusted growth from 0.3 percent to minus 0.2 percent.

As it is, the monthly headline drop was wholly attributable to auto fuel which decreased some 2.9 percent. Purchases of food, drink and tobacco rose a further 0.4 percent while discretionary spending (ex-auto fuel) was up 0.5 percent, its third increase in the last four months.

Accordingly, the underlying picture is probably rather firmer than first appearances might suggest. Even so, today's data put the Swiss RPI at minus 18 and the RPI-P at minus 30, both gauges showing recent economic activity in general falling somewhat short of market expectations.

Annual sales growth is seen at 0.2 percent, down from 0.3 percent in January.

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.