US Retail Sales Rise 0.3% in November, Beating Expectations

Despite Economic Uncertainty, Consumers Continue to Spend with Holiday Sales Expected to Increase

US retail sales rose by 0.3% in November, beating expectations of a decline and rebounding from a 0.2% drop in October.
Excluding car and gas sales, the increase was 0.6%, with strong performances in restaurants, furniture stores, and online sales.
Despite concerns over inflation and economic uncertainty, consumers continued to spend, with the unemployment rate declining to 3.7% in November.
However, there are concerns about how consumers are financing their spending, with credit card balances and rates at all-time highs.
The National Retail Federation expects holiday sales to rise 3% to 4% for November through December, slower than the 5.4% growth over the same period a year ago, but more consistent with the average annual holiday increase of 3.6% from 2010 to pre-pandemic 2019.