Retailers hoping for momentum heading into the holiday season are seeing mixed signals today as some categories saw positive gains while others demonstrated weakness. Retail industry sales were flat seasonally adjusted from September and fell 1.3 percent year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation.
“Though the October numbers show some signs of optimism for retailers, the industry is still not out of the woods,” said NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells. “While categories like apparel, sporting goods, books, music and personal care fared well, housing-related categories such as furniture and home improvement continued to struggle.”
October retail sales released today by the U.S. Commerce Department show total retail sales (which include non-general merchandise categories such as autos, gasoline stations and restaurants) increased 1.4 percent from the previous month, but decreased 1.7 percent year-over-year.
The National Retail Federation said:
Clothing and clothing accessories stores saw sales increase 0.4 percent from September and 3.6 percent year-over-year.
Health and personal care stores sales gained of 0.5 percent from the previous month and increased 3.8 percent from October 2008.
Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores declined by 1.2 percent from September, but increased 3.0 percent year-over-year.
Furniture and home furnishing stores sales declined by 0.8 percent from September and 7.6 year-over-year.
Building material, garden equipment and supplies stores dipped 2.4 percent from September and dropped 16.6 percent from 2008.
The National Retail Federation also said that categories related to housing lagged in October, demonstrating that the housing market still has a long way to go toward recovery.
NRF continues to forecast a holiday sales decline of 1.0 percent for the months of November and December.
