United States: Retail sales shrink in January
Latest reading: Nominal retail sales fell 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis in January, following a flat reading in the previous month. January’s reading was the weakest since May 2025.
Relative to the previous month’s data, readings in January softened for motor vehicle and parts dealers (-0.9% in seasonally adjusted month-on-month terms vs -0.2% in December), food and beverages (+0.2% vs +0.3% in December) and gasoline stations (-2.9% vs -0.1% in December). In contrast, readings improved for general merchandise stores (+0.4% vs 0.0% in December) and non-store retailers (+1.9% vs +0.2% in December).
On a year-on-year basis, retail sales rose 3.2% in January, following a 2.4% rise in the prior month.