Including goods from food to clothing to gasoline – but excluding cars – U.S. retail sales rose 3.6% from January 2009, according to MasterCard Advisor’s SpendingPulse, which offer an estimate of spending in all forms including cash.
That increase followed a 4.8% gain in December and a 2.1% gain in November, according to SpendingPulse.
Excluding both gas and auto sales, retail sales rose 0.3% in January, 2.1% in December and 0.2% in November compared with a year earlier. The year-over-year figures are not seasonally adjusted.
SpendingPulse’s month-to-month figures – which are seasonally adjusted and include gasoline but exclude autos – show January’s sales rising 2.8% from December’s, which fell 1.9% from November’s. November’s sales rose 1.1% from October.
