February Retail Sales Barely Higher Following a Nearly Five Percent Gain in January

Seven of top fifteen retail store categories show monthly declines.

Longer term, sales are up nearly 18 percent in the past year to a record $658 billion.
Online sales show biggest monthly drop, off 3.7 percent for the month, followed by a decline of 1.8 percent for Health Store Retailers. Furniture Stores are down by 1 percent.
On the positive side, Restaurants & Bars lead in monthly growth, up 2.5 percent in February and 33 percent year-over-year despite three losses in the past four months.
Sales at Building Materials stores rise by 0.9 percent, the only industry with uninterrupted growth since August of last year.
Compared to a year ago, sales in the Building Materials Category are almost 15 percent higher but trail composite growth across categories.