US retail sales grow for 5th month in a row

Shoppers spent on clothing, cars and sporting goods last month

Retail sales rose in September for the fifth month in a row, as Americans spent more on clothing, cars and sporting goods.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
XRT SPDR® S&P® RETAIL ETF - USD DIS 78.91 +1.30 +1.68%

September Sales +1.9% vs. 0.6%

The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales grew 1.9% last month. That's up from August's increase of 0.6%.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
WMT WALMART INC. 88.38 +1.19 +1.36%
TGT TARGET CORP. 121.59 -0.14 -0.12%
AMZN AMAZON.COM INC. 198.38 -4.50 -2.22%

Retail sales have been recovering since plunging in the spring as stores and malls were ordered closed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

GUN SALES SOARING

Much of last month's growth came from clothing stores, where sales rose 11%. At auto dealerships and repair shops, sales were up 3.6%. And those looking to go camping or buy exercise equipment for their homes sent sales at sporting goods stores up 5.7%.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
PTON PELOTON INTERACTIVE INC. 9.06 +0.70 +8.37%
DKS DICK'S SPORTING GOODS INC. 201.88 +7.76 +4.00%

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Consumer spending makes up two-thirds of all U.S. economic activity, and is watched closely to gauge the country's economic health.

Friday’s retail sales report covers only about a third of overall consumer spending. Services such as haircuts and hotel stays are not included in the report. All of those types of businesses have been badly hurt by the pandemic.

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