US retail sales declined in January by much more than expected

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/15/econ...440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

HYPERLINK has full article

snip

Retail sales, which captures spending on all goods and food services, fell 0.8% in January, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, breaking a two-month streak of increases. That was even lower than the downwardly revised 0.4% increase in December, and well below economists’ expectations of a 0.1% decline, according to FactSet. The figures are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation.................

Americans are being squeezed by elevated interest rates, still-high inflation and a harder time accessing credit, as many continue to draw down their pandemic savings,

end snip

This being CNN, it's no surprise that the article also includes their opinion that cold weather stopped folks from ordering online, going into warm stores and malls.
Anyway, it should be of no surprise given the rising credit card debt and defaults that spending is slowing. Unlike the govt, when you run out of money, you run out of money.

 

The month after Christmas where everyone spent a bunch of money, including retail purchases, shows a decline in retail sales and this is supposed to be surprising? Are you also surprised when winter coat sales drop in the spring?

 

Gee, it’s almost like if things in retail get more expensive, people are less likely to buy them.

 

Wait, people shop less in retail stores AFTER Christmas? Well ****! Who knew? LOL

 

Lol, and that's what everyone was saying about the JUMP IN SPENDING during the holidays when the left were crowing about the fantastic economy.

LMFAO

Welcome to reality and a small slice of CROW PIE..

 

what the Democrat pom pom wavers do not realize that the CNN article is that spending dropped MORE than expected AND...................December spending was revised................wait for it................I know this will surprise you........................DOWNWARD

Color me shocked that the Democrat administration releases incorrect numbers to get a news bump, only later to report the actual number which is always lower. And the Democrat media never calls them out on it.

 

From the OP: "The figures are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation."

Seems, they already took the expected seasonal swings you're talking about into account... what with them being professional economists, and all. The decline is more pronounced than was expected, even after the expected post-Christmas decline.

 

you need to know how the OP works. It is always with maga propaganda.

 

Imagine that...

 

I do not engage in ad-hom fallacy. I am capable of distilling truth without attacking the messenger.

 

This is a valid point to bring up. The before Christmas surge was no more a marker of a strong economy than the after Christmas drop is a marker of a bad economy.

 

Mmm hmm, because economists know the hearts and minds of every shopper and what is driving their purchasing. Economists, like psychologists, work on probabilities. They can be okay at predicting large scale patterns, but their insights are meaningless on an individual level. And you would need to understand the individual motivations of all shoppers to accurately predict a rise or fall in purchasing.

People will take from these things what they will. If you want to see signs of a bad economy, you will. If you want to see signs of a good economy, like the left did with the Christmas purchasing surge, that's what you'll see.

 

I'm waiting to see what CC debt has jumped up to! That might explain the dip in food and retail sales! Time to pay the CC Gods!!

 

perhaps we can get Biden to forgive all credit card debt and automobile loans in exchange for voting Democrat. Then, those same folks could again run up their debt, and the Democrat party could tout an awesome GDP

 

That is not ad-hominem, it was referring to where the information is gathered.

 

I used one of your Democrat sources; CNN

do you now not believe CNN? I suggest reading the links that people take the time to include

 

Much better to have Democrat pom pom wavers than Republicans hoping to see the economy crash.

 

Attacking the messenger and attacking the source is the same ad-hom fallacy. You failed to address the topic.

 

Not sure what shitstain red state you dwell in, but in my State, the economy is booming!

 

That's nothing unusual

 

I agree. Red States are shitstains.

 

You do realize Nevada flips Gop from time to time.. And when it comes to shitstains, well Nevada was populated with losers, literally

 

But according to the left...everything is fine.

 

No, it isn't lmao.

 

even our local CBS affiliate-which oozes blue-noted that the real value of the dollar has gone way down and things like Groceries are far more expensive. Gas prices have edged up again here in Ohio-the banditry of Hamas and other Islamist terrorists in the Mid East is reported as a factor since tankers have to avoid areas where Islamist Drones and Missile attacks are prevalent