Retail Sales Rise, With Electronics Leading the Way

Overall sales rise 0.3 percent, boosted by 3.7 percent rise in CE sales

March 12, 2010 By Stephen Silver

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Led by a big gain in the CE sector, domestic retail sales rose 0.3 percent in the month of February from January, according to figures released Friday by the Department of Commerce's Census Bureau. The number actually represented a 3.9 percent rise from the same time last year.

According to MarketWatch, economists had predicted a smaller gain of 0.1 percent.

Sales at electronics and appliance stores posted a 3.7 percent gain from January, the largest of any product category and largest gain for CE in a year, when numbers were adjusted for seasonal variation; in non-adjusted numbers, the CE gain was 4.4 percent, second only to clothing and clothing accessories.

Overall CE and appliance sales were estimated at $8.953 billion, up from $8.636 billion in January, while year-to-date CE sales were placed at $16.5 billion, down 3.3 percent from 2009.

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