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WASHINGTON – U.S. retail sales slowed in January after a robust holiday shopping season but continued to show year-over-year growth, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
National Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said the decline was expected given the strong consumer activity during the 2024 holiday period.
“It’s reasonable to expect some slowdown from the vigorous 2024 holiday season, so January’s numbers are not a surprise and don’t contradict the consumer spending trends we experienced,” Kleinhenz said. “The slower spending reflects weaker payroll growth in January, and higher prices remain a challenge for most households. Cold weather across much of the country and wildfires in California also likely impacted consumer activity. Nonetheless, these results point to a stable economy and provide a solid start to 2025.”
According to the Census Bureau, overall retail sales in January declined 0.9% seasonally adjusted month over month but increased 4.2% unadjusted year over year. This follows December’s gains of 0.7% month over month and 4.4% year over year.
NRF’s measure of core retail sales—excluding automobile dealers, gasoline stations, and restaurants—showed a similar trend, with a 0.9% month-over-month decline but a 4% year-over-year increase. On a three-month moving average, core retail sales rose 4.1% year over year.
For the 2024 holiday season, core retail sales grew 4% year over year, contributing to an overall 3.6% increase for the full year.
Additionally, data from the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions, reported a 1.27% seasonally adjusted month-over-month decline in core retail sales for January but a 5.72% unadjusted year-over-year increase. In comparison, December saw core retail sales rise by 2.19% month over month and 8.41% year over year.
Thorvardur de Shong
