| Actual | Previous | Revised | |
| Month over Month | -0.6% | -0.9% | -1.1% |
| Year over Year | 0.7% | 1.2% | 1.0% |
Highlights
Retail sales extended their slump, falling 0.6 percent in February after a revised decline of 1.1 percent in February. Compared to a year ago they rose 0.7 percent following a 1.0 percent gain the month before.
Sales of food declined 1.4 percent month-on-month and were 0.1 percent higher than a year ago, while non-food sales rose 0.7 percent in February and were up 1.1 percent year-on-year.
Mail order and internet sales posted a 0.6 percent gain in February and 2.2 percent year-on-year.
German consumers remain wary, and today's result does not include any effects related to the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East. March results could wind up extending the current pullback in sales. In any case, the consumer will not be contributing to GDP in the first quarter.
Definition
Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell durable and nondurable goods. The data are compiled from about 27,000 retail businesses and are reported in both nominal and volume terms. Autos are excluded. A very limited breakdown of subsector performance is available in the initial report which is itself subject to sometimes sizeable revision but much greater detail is provided in the following month's release.
Description
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. However, by excluding the services sector, changes in retail sales data can differ significantly from those in total household spending.