Led by a 4.6% increase in sales at electronics and appliance stores, retail sales across the U.S. posted a 1% gain in November, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Dec. 13. The increase exceeded economists' expectations and was a reversal of a one-tenth percent decline in retail sales in October.
Sales at furniture and home furnishings stores posted the only month-to-month decline in November; sales in those stores were down a tenth of a percent from October. Sales at clothing stores were flat in November.
Retail sales excluding autos posted a 1.1% gain in November, a substantial change from October when such sales fell three-tenths of a percentage point.
