Retail sales bounced back strongly in January as inflation eased and income grew, the National Retail Federation reported.
“Despite inflationary headwinds, January retail sales show the resiliency of consumers in how they manage their budgets and make decisions on how, when and where to spend their hard-earned dollars,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Retailers understand the needs of consumers and have in place the people, processes, and technologies to meet consumers with the right inventory, competitive pricing and great experiences however consumers choose to shop.”
NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz added, “Consumer spending clearly picked up after the holidays. Sales were helped along by job and wage growth, slightly lower inflation and unusually warm and dry weather that preceded February’s record cold. A large cost-of-living adjustment gave Social Security beneficiaries more money to spend, and many consumers were still drawing on savings built up during the pandemic. January made up for the softer pattern of spending in December that came after early shopping pulled holiday spending forward this past fall.”
The U.S. Census Bureau said overall retail sales in January were up 3 percent from December and up 6.4 percent year over year. In December, sales were down 1.1 percent month over month but up 5.9 percent year over year.
NRF’s calculation of retail sales – which excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants to focus on core retail – showed January was up 1.5 percent from December and up 4.8 percent unadjusted year over year. January’s results follow a 5.1 percent year-over-year increase in combined November-December holiday sales to $934.7 billion. Total 2022 retail sales as calculated by NRF grew 7 percent to $4.9 trillion.
NRF will release its 2023 retail sales forecast as part of its State of Retail and the Consumer event on March 29.
