Monday March 4, 2013

January Retail Sales Increase Slightly From December

Washington, D.C. — At $416.6 billion, January retail and food services sales were 0.1 percent higher than they were in December and 4.4 percent above January 2012, according to the Department of Commerce's advance monthly sales estimates.

Total sales from November 2012 through January 2013 were up 4.5 percent from the same period a year ago.

Food and beverage store sales saw no change from December, but were up 2.8 percent from January 2012 at $54.5 billion. With sales of $48 billion in January, grocery store sales alone also saw growth from January 2012 with a 2.9 percent increase and a 0.6 percent increase from December.