retail sales

Retail sales dropped sharply last month after a winter storm blanketed much of the country's midsection, but forecasters expect a sharp rebound in sales.

Retail sales soared 5.3% last month compared to December, much more than anticipated, as U.S. families began receiving new federal coronavirus relief checks.

Restaurants and bars are reeling from spikes of coronavirus cases in their communities. Earlier holiday sales meant online shopping and electronics sales dipped in December. Retail sales fell 0.7%.

Shoppers kept buying electronics and home improvement supplies, but sales overall rose only 0.3% in October.

U.S. retail spending grew 1.9% last month, delivering a slight boost of confidence amid a recent spate of signs that the economic recovery has lost momentum from the pandemic's toll.

But U.S. shoppers spent more prudently in August and retail sales grew a tepid 0.6% from July, after extra federal jobless benefits expired and families faced a confusing back-to-school season.

People particularly stocked up on electronics and appliances, took more trips with stops at gas stations, and cautiously went out to eat as more stores and restaurants reopened.

U.S. stores and restaurants got a boost in June as retail sales jumped 7.5%. Spending on clothes doubled. But this was before a new surge in the coronavirus prompted renewed shutdowns in some states.