Retail sales crept up in January, continuing the momentum of the past seven months, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday.
Retail and food service sales for last month penciled in at $381.6 billion, an increase of 0.3 percent from December, and 7.8 percent higher than January 2010. Without gasoline and auto, total retail and food sales increased 0.2 percent in January.
While retail sales following the frenzied holiday season tend to slump, some economists expected a jump this time because January marked the first month that many Americans saw their paychecks increase after a Social Security tax cut.
Analysts blamed the snowstorms that shut down large parts of the country for the lower-than-expected numbers. But they saw even the modest increase as a positive sign that consumers are continuing to support the economic recovery with their wallets. Sales are up more than 14 percent than the low in December 2008.
Officials revised total sales for November to December 2010 from 0.6 percent to 0.5 percent.
Gasoline sales, as widely expected, rose 1.4 percent last month, thanks to a jump in prices. Meanwhile, auto and other motor vehicle dealer sales registered an uptick of 0.6 percent from December to January; year-over-year, the segment grew 16.7 percent.
Food and beverage sales rose 1.3 percent; department store sales increased 0.8 percent; and non-store retailers, which includes on-line merchants, climbed 1.2 percent.
A few segments loss some ground, including music stores, with 1.3 percent decline; clothing and accessory stores, which registered a 0.3 percent decrease; and retailers selling building materials, the sales for which slipped 2.9 percent in January.