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RETAIL SALES ROSE IN MARCH; LUXURY CONTINUES TO ROCKET April 18, 2012 (0 comments)
New York, NY—It looks like Americans are returning to their favorite pastime—shopping, not baseball—as retail sales in the United States rose more than forecast for the month of March.
Bloomberg News surveyed 81 economists, who predicted an average 0.3% gain for the month. The 0.8% actual gain blew away their forecast, and it comes on top of a 1.1% gain in February. According to Bloomberg’s report, an improving job market—even if the latest improvement was lower than expected—is bolstering consumer confidence and driving spending in the face of higher gasoline prices, while the strengthening consumer demand raises the odds that the U.S. economy can weather a recession in Europe.
Though some recent economic data, such as weaker-than-expected housing starts and slower expansion rate for manufacturing in some areas, underscores the continued “fits and starts” nature of this recovery, retailers are performing well. Gap, Target, and Macy’s led gainers in the mass market, while the New York-based Luxury Institute this week released a report showing strong gains at luxury retailers Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Saks.
Read the Bloomberg report here.
Image: livingnotesfromnyc