January Retail Levels Up, Home Furnishings Strong

Washington — Bulking up virtually across the board, with almost every single channel putting up hefty gains, overall retail sales jumped up by 2.3% in January as consumers flocked to the malls to sniff out bargains and cash in their gift cards.

Emphasizing how gift cards and post-holiday shopping have tilted the axis of holiday retailing, shifting sales from December into January, the January increase of 2.3% dwarfed a December sales gain of just 0.4%.

Not surprisingly in an era of rising gas prices, the single biggest gainer during January was gas stations, where prices at the pump drove sales up by 5.5%. Not far behind was clothing and accessories, a channel that has a tough time selling at full price, but which racked up a hefty 4.2% increase when the merchandise hit the clearance table.

Home-related categories were strong performers as well, with furniture and home furnishings stores gaining by 3.7%, volume in building material and garden supply chains climbing by 3.4% and electronics and appliances business growing by 2.0%.

And consumers must have been celebrating their bargains, using their savings to party, since sales at restaurants and bars jumped up by 3.2%.