what are retail sales 
retail sales are an economic metric that tracks consumer demand for finished goods this figure is a very important data set as it is a key monthly market moving event retail sales are reported each month by the u s census bureau and indicate the direction of the economy it acts as a key economic barometer and whether inflationary pressures exist retail sales are measured by durable and non durable goods purchased over a defined period of time sales for the report are derived from 13 types of retailers from food service to retail stores understanding retail salesretail sales are a good indicator of the pulse of the economy and its projected path toward expansion or contraction retail sales figures are reported by all food service and retail stores and compiled by the u s census bureau the measurement is typically based on data sampling and is used to model the patterns for the entire country 1as a leading macroeconomic indicator healthy retail sales figures typically elicit positive movements in equity markets higher sales are good news for shareholders of retail companies because it means higher earnings bondholders on the other hand are quite ambivalent towards this metric a booming economy is good for all but lower retail sales figures and a contracting economy would translate to a decrease in inflation this may cause investors to gravitate toward bonds eventually leading to higher bond prices retail sales capture in store sales as well as catalog and other out of store sales of both durable last for more than three years and non durable goods those with a three year or shorter life span 234these are broken down into a number of different categories including but not limited to as a broad economic indicator the retail sales report is one of the timeliest reports because it provides data that is only a few weeks old individual retail companies often provide their own sales figures at the same time every month and their stocks can experience volatility as investors process the data major changes in price can affect retail sales figures these fluctuations in prices are seen primarily in two retail sales categories food retailers and gas stations large increases in food and energy prices can cause sales figures to drop in both categories thus affecting the sales of a particular month retail sales for may 2024 which is an increase of 0 3 from april 2024 these figures are seasonally adjusted but not adjusted for inflation 6special considerationsan accurate measure of retail sales is incredibly vital for gauging the economic health of the u s this is because consumer spending or personal consumption expenditure pce accounts for two thirds of gross domestic product gdp retail sales are reported in the u s every month 7the data for the report is collected by the u s census bureau in its monthly retail trade survey the report which is released in the middle of every month shows the total number of sales in the measured period usually the prior month and the percentage change from the last report the report also includes the year over year change in sales to account for the seasonality of consumer based retail 89the sales figures are often presented in two ways with and without the inclusion of auto and gas sales most economists choose to analyze retail sales without including car sales because these figures tend to fluctuate more than other sales the same applies to gas station sales which are subject to oil and gas price volatility the main reason that this volatile data stream is ignored is that consumers don t have a choice when it comes to consumption retail sales are affected by seasonality the holiday season is typically believed to have the highest level of sales this is partly due to the holiday shopping season for christmas this time of the year accounts for a large portion of yearly sales for many retailers primarily for hobby toy game and department stores 1011