Retail Sales in November Below Estimate

This morning’s report on retail sales from the US Census Bureau could dampen some of the enthusiasm that’s been swirling around holiday season sales. Retail sales, including autos, gasoline, and building materials rose 0.2% in November, where analysts had been expecting a gain of 0.5%.

Even including the excluded items, sales grew by just 0.2%. Auto sales rose 0.5% in November following growth of 0.8% in October. Gasoline sales were down 0.1% and building materials sales were down 0.3%. Food and beverage sales were down -0.3%.

Year-over-year, auto sales were up 8.1% in November, and the annual adjusted estimate for auto sales in 2011 is 13.6 million, the best performance for the industry since August 2009.

Electronics retailers posted the biggest monthly gain, up 2.1% over October. Non-store retailers posted significant gains in the month, up 1.5% over October and up nearly 14% over November 2010.

Clothing and general merchandise sales were up 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively. With rising consumer confidence and some improvement in hiring, the holiday season could provide a significant boost to sales in these categories.