Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey, fourth quarter 2015
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Released: 2016-04-15
Retail sales rose 2.4% in the fourth quarter compared with the same quarter the previous year to $137.1 billion. Higher sales were reported in 8 of 10 major commodity groupings.
Sales of motor vehicles, parts and services posted the largest increase, rising 9.4%. The largest contributor to the gain was used automotive vehicles (+22.7%). Sales of used automotive vehicles continued to outpace those of new automotive vehicles (+7.0%). The increase of sales in new automotive vehicles was led by new trucks, vans and minivans (+13.9%). Moderating the gain were lower sales of new cars (-7.4%).
Sales of food and beverages advanced 1.6%. The majority of this increase came from higher sales of alcoholic beverages (+3.9%) and food (+1.0%), led by price-induced gains for fresh fruits and vegetables (+5.0%). Moderating the increases were lower sales of all other foods (-1.0%) and dairy products and eggs (-0.7%).
Sales of clothing, footwear and accessories rose 4.3% from the same quarter the previous year. Women's clothing and accessories (+4.5%) was the largest contributor to the gain, led by increased sales of women's skirts, pants and blouses (+5.4%). Footwear receipts (+4.9%) were boosted by sales in non-athletic footwear (+4.4%).
Retail sales of health and personal care items rose 5.1%. Leading the gains were higher sales of prescription drugs (+6.6%) and personal care, health and beauty products (+3.1%).
Sales of hardware, lawn and garden products grew 4.9%. This reflected higher sales of lumber and other building products (+6.7%) and plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical equipment and supplies (+8.6%). Moderating the gains were lower sales of outdoor power equipment and accessories (-13.8%).
Higher sales of sporting and leisure goods (+3.9%) were led by increases in toys, games and hobby supplies (+8.1%).
Automotive fuels, oils and additives sales fell 11.8% from the fourth quarter of 2014. The bulk of the decrease came from lower sales of automotive fuels (-12.2%), due in large part to falling gasoline prices. Automotive fuel sales made up 8.7% of total retail sales, its lowest share in six years.
Note to readers
The Retail Commodity Survey collects data on national level retail sales by commodity, from a sub-sample of businesses in the Monthly Retail Trade Survey.
Quarterly data have not been adjusted for seasonality. For example, no adjustment has been made for Easter, which occurred at the start of the second quarter of 2015 but took place later in the second quarter of 2014. All percentage changes are year over year.
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