Retail Sales in U.S. Dropped in March by Most in Nine Months

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Alex Kowalski - Apr 12, 2013

Retail sales in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in March by the most in nine months as employment slowed, showing households ended the first quarter on softer footing.

The 0.4 percent decrease, the biggest since June, followed a 1 percent gain in February, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 85 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an unchanged reading in March. Department stores and electronics dealers were among the weakest showings.

The figures may prompt economists, who are projecting consumer spending climbed in the first quarter at the fastest pace in two years, to reduce growth estimates. A pickup in hiring and bigger increases in wages will be needed to ensure any slowdown proves temporary as federal budget cuts and an increase in the payroll tax restrain the expansion.

“Households are now making those difficult choices on how to adjust spending,” said Ellen Zentner, a senior economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York, who projected sales would drop. “We have no steam going into the second quarter.”

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-12/retail-sales-in-u-s-dropped-in-march-by-most-in-nine-months.html

[ForgoTheConsequence]

1. Unexpected?

Last edited Fri Apr 12, 2013, 01:05 PM - Edit history (1)

You're not paying your employees enough to buy the shit you're selling! Fuckers, all of them.

[Newest Reality]

2. Yo! Mr. Business Peoples!

Over here!!!!

You see, we can't do like you wanted us to anymore. Those days when we could tap the credit cards and then tap the mortgage, etc., are now over.

Your sweet dream of having us pay interest on subsidizing those extremely low wages you paid out for 30-years, and now the shrinking to null benefits ... well, we can't do it no more!

So, if you really expect to make sales of all that crap we don't need and services we can often do without, then something has to change. I mean, your coffers are so full you are busy buying new coffers all the time, right?

Our coffers are just tin-cans with a little change in them ... until the end of the month, at least.

Get a feekin' clue, though, I know you know this and you are going to pick our bones as dry as possible because more poverty means more power for a few, plain and simple.

[AzDar]

3. ...

[LittleGirl]

4. exactly! eom

[madrchsod]

5. wow! big drop in imported products!

gee..i remember when stuff was made in the usa. no big surprise that the economy is tanking again. it`s been the economic model in this for years now. soon we`ll all be living and working in the same conditions of a second and third world country.

USA!USA! WE ARE NUMBER 1!!!!

[bhikkhu]

10. Meanwhile, US exports are doing quite well

still near (if not above) the previous record highs, around 186 billion for february http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/

[canoeist52]

6. Buy local, buy USA made and the farmer's market movement

(which isn't selling only vegetables) are a powerful way to change the banker's dream model.

[olddots]

7. if only a 10th. of the clothing sold in America was made here in America

we would be on our way back to a reality that works .

[DallasNE]

8. "Experts" Wrong Again

That should be the headline. The payroll tax increase went in on January 1st so why would that show up all of the sudden in March. February sales, after all, were strong in spite of sharply higher gas prices. Sure looks like the payroll tax increase was a minor player. The experts need to pay more attention to the soft science of economics, in this case I'm talking about consumer sentiment. Consumer sentiment has softened as a result of all of the bickering in Washington D.C., specifically the sequester and the uncertainty generated by that. So, on top of the actual spending cuts in government forced by sequester we have consumers also cutting spending making the sequester a double whammy. Ironically, if Washington D.C. can break the gridlock on things like immigration and gun control then consumer confidence will spring back. It doesn't have to be lose lose.

[bhikkhu]

9. "Unemployment Claims Drop Sharply"

http://www.news10.net/news/national/240429/5/Unemployment-claims-drop-sharply

just saying - cherry-picking the news to justify whatever trend you are looking for is easy to do. For the most part, what you find is "noise" in the numbers, from which you can spin whatever narrative you like. Plenty of people get paid to do exactly that.

[Purveyor]

11. "Cherry-picking"? Just for your information, here are some of the other econ threads I 'cherry-

picked' recently:

Jobless Claims in U.S. Plunged More Than Forecast Last Week http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014450998

Dow, S&P 500 Close At New All-Time Highs http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014450347

Job Openings at Highest Since 2008 Signal U.S. Rebound http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014449075

[bhikkhu]

12. Point taken

and no offence intended.

Slightly in my defence, I spent the day listening to what an unmitigated economic disaster the last four years have been, how we never got out of the recession, and how things are worse now than when bush left office - it was RW talking-point central at the shop today. I shouldn't take it out on people here though....

[quadrature]

13. we are overdue for a new recession

the current recession started in
2007 or so. (at least in my opinion)

after five or six years.

we are due

[Trascoli]

14. Expect it to drop more.

We are being saved by inflation right now. The DOW is climbing, but will most likely crash within the next 8 months like it did in 2008.