Retail Sales Fall by Record Amount in October

Washington, DC, Nov. 14, 2008--U.S. retail sales plunged a record 2.8% in October as sales of autos and gasoline plummeted, the Commerce Department estimated Friday.

Excluding the 5.5% drop in auto purchases, retail sales fell a record 2.2%.

The figures were worse than expected, with economists looking for the headline sales number to fall 2.3% and sales excluding autos expected to drop 1.7%.

Falling gasoline prices accounted for about half the decline in total sales in October. Sales at gas stations fell a record 12.7% as the average price at the pump plunged. Sales excluding gas dropped 1.5%, the biggest decline in three years.
 
Excluding both autos and gas, sales fell 0.5%.
 
Sales were quite weak across a broad swath of the retail sector in October, an indication that the fourth quarter could be worse than the just completed third quarter, when inflation-adjusted consumer spending fell at the fastest pace in 28 years.
 
The dismal report confirms what the business sector has been saying: Consumer spending is falling rapidly.

Sales of durable goods remained weak. Sales at furniture stores dropped 2.8%, sales at electronics and appliance stores fell 2.3%, and sales at hardware stores fell 0.4%.