Retail sales continue to grow at a low single-digit pace
Posted By:
Tom Sanderson
Date Posted:
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
8:05 AM
Seasonally adjusted real retail sales increased in December to $176.7 billion. (Note that actual sales are deflated using CPI 1982-84=100.) Year-over-year growth was 3.4%, the tenth month in a row under 5%. From peak (Sep '07) to current, retail sales are off 2.0%, a much smaller percentage decline than what has occurred in the housing and auto markets. December sales were 12.9% higher than the trough (Mar '09) of the recent recession. Real retail sales have only recovered to the levels of 2005, which is not much of a recovery. The vertical bars in the graph represent recessions.
