Sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in February, the first gain in three months, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Excluding volatile sales of autos and parts, sales rose by the same percentage.
The results were slightly better than the 0.2% median forecast in Action Economics survey of economists.
However, January sales fell more than previously estimated — by 0.6% instead of 0.4%, according to the government's revised estimate.
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Motor vehicle sales, building materials stores and furniture stores all showed increases in sales last month. Restaurant sales also increased after two months of declines. Sales fell at electronics retailers and grocery stores.
"Net net, the economy seems to be rebounding from a winter-related slump in the first quarter," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist for Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
Along with Thursday's report on jobless claims, which fell to a three-month low last week, "spring is in the air," Rupkey said.
Richard Moody, chief economist of Regions Financial, noted retail sales represent about a quarter of overall consumer spending. Not counted in retail sales is spending on household services, including utilities. The hard winter likely forced some households to shift some spending from goods to services, such as paying heating bills. Meanwhile, spending on big ticket items such as home appliances was probably delayed, not lost forever, he said.
"We expect higher spending on household services to further lift total consumer spending for the month. We still expect a better pace of job growth to bring better growth in personal income, in turn fueling stronger gains in consumer spending," Moody said.
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