As you know, U.S. retail spending drives nearly three quarters of the U.S. GDP. A close look at retail trending shows a rebound that was good news for holiday retailers. They went into this year’s season with much better control over their inventories and a more calculated approach to their operations than in the later part of 2008 — back then it appeared that the economy was heading south fast and any calculations for guidance that they had done previously was far helpful.
Besides the overall trend (which continues Northward) many specifically strong sectors point to a revival of the consumer. Health and personal care store sales were +5.1% year over year. Clothing and accessory, sporting goods, hobby, book and music all were similarly strong at +5.0%.
As we’ve pointed out previously electronic marketers and online mail order houses continue their march upward. The continue to be the growth leader at +10.3%.
The net effect was to raise three-month moving average for total retail sales to +1.9% year over year, the first positive percentage change in 16 months. This is a huge improvement compared to the low for this reading of -10.4% reported in January 2008.
This data continues the string of Christmas week data pointing to a healthy 2010 economically.
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