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Black Friday kicked off the Holiday shopping season to great start as data begins to trickle in. Below is some visual information.

Highlights:
212 million shoppers visited a store or website, 8.7 up from last year.
The average shopper spent $365.34, up 6.4%.
Online spending up 9% to $648 million
Total Black Friday spending would rise 9.2% to $45 billion.

Source: WSJ

Source: NYT

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Brief rundown;

• Retail sales increased 1.6% from February to March
• February was reported at $355.5 billion
• March was reported $363.2 billion

U.S Census Bureau Report:

“The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for March, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $363.2 billion, an increase of 1.6 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month and 7.6 percent (±0.5%) above March 2009. Total sales for the January through March 2010 period were up 5.5 percent (±0.3%) from the same period a year ago. The January to February 2010 percent change was revised from +0.3 percent (±0.5%)* to +0.5 percent (±0.3%).”

This graph shows the monthly retail sales.

Graph Source: www.calculatedriskblog.com

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Brief rundown;

• Retail sales increased 0.3% from January to February
• Jan was reported at $354.3 billion
• February was reported at $355.5 billion

U.S Census Bureau Report:

“The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for February, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $355.5 billion, an increase of 0.3 percent (±0.5%)* from the previous month and 3.9 percent (±0.5%) above February 2009.”

This graph shows the monthly retail sales.

Graph Source: www.calculatedriskblog.com

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Total retail sales increased 0.5% in January up 4.7% from January 2009, reported by the Commerce Department. Additionally December revised data indicated stronger spending for December (-0.3% -> -0.2%) and November (1.8% -> 2%).

However, high unemployment and uncertainty in job security in the U.S. has tightened consumer spending.

Here’s a brief rundown of January sales;

• Retail & Food Services -> 0.5%
• Auto Sales -> -0.1%
• Department Stores -> 1.5%
• Electronic/Appliance -> 1.2%
• Clothing Stores -> 0.3%

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December retail sales fell 0.3% according to the Commerce Department. It was an unexpected surprise after having a strong showing in November (up 1.8%) and October (up 1.2%). The month of December signaled lower consumer confidence in the market due to mounting unemployment. Consumer spending accounts for approximately 70% of GDP.

Compared to December 2008 sales were up 5.4%. However, looking at the bigger picture, sales for 2009 declined 6.2% from a year ago that was the largest decline on record since 1992.

Quick break down of sales for December as follows; US Census Bureau News

• Auto Sales –> -0.8%
• Department Store Sales –> -0.8%
• Electronic/Appliance Store Sales –> -2.6%
• Hardware Store Sales –> -0.4%
• Restaurants/Bars –> -0.6%
• Clothing Stores –> -0.6%

“The stage is set for a poor retail sales performance in January for two reasons,” wrote RBS economist Stanley. First, retailers reportedly trimmed their inventories in December, so there’ll be slim pickings for the usual bargain hunters. Second, cold weather in January could deter shoppers, because retailers already have their spring merchandise out on display. No one buys a grill during a cold snap. —- Rex Nutting, MarketWatch

Graph Source: CalculatedRiskBlog.com

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Chart Source: CalculatedRiskBlog.com

Retail sales rose 1.3% for the month of November following a 1.1% gain in October, reinforcing consumer confidence in the market. After the GDP rose 2.8% in the 3rd quarter Analysts forecasted slow growth for the 4th quarter and half of the 1st quarter of 2010. Analysts believe that a double digit unemployment, currently at 10% would weaken consumer spending. Data from the 4th quarter will be a better indicator to forecast next year. Quick break down of sales for November as follows;

Auto Sales –>  +1.6%

Department Store Sales –> +0.7%

Electronic/Appliance Store Sales –> +2.8%

Hardware Store Sales –> +1.5%

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