By Manuel Gutierrez, Consulting Economist to NKBA

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.

“Sales at gasoline stations are up a substantial 36 percent in a year due to rising gas prices.”