Another snowy month in a winter chock full of bad weather didn’t negatively affect the retail industry in February, with many sectors posting gains last month compared to a year earlier.
MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse report on retail activity between Jan. 31 and February 27 released earlier today showed sales growth for footwear, men’s apparel, electronics, and luxury goods compared to the same time period just last year. The report also indicated that online sales grew significantly last month, likely due again, to rough weather conditions that kept many shoppers indoors. Women’s clothing and apparel was the only major retail sector to post losses according to the report.
According to SpendingPulse, clothing sales fell overall by 1.8 percent last month versus February 2009 but men’s clothing jumped 5.7 percent and footwear rose 2.2 percent. Meanwhile, consumer electronics recorded a sixth straight month of increases with 5.8 percent growth and luxury goods (excluding jewelry) were the biggest winner, posting a 15.2 percent increase after a strong 8.1 percent jump in January.
Online sales were up 16.7 percent as well, though the average transaction for a web shopper actually dropped by almost 4 percent.
While the gains across the industry appear to be good news, analysts were quick to warn against putting too much stock into the data, considering that consumer confidence was at an all time low back in February 2009. Additionally, February is usually considered the second-least important month of the year for retailers (behind January) because it is sandwiched between holiday clearance time and the bustling spring shopping season.
We should get a better overall gauge of February retail information once the International Council of Shopping Centers releases its own index of sales figures for the month tomorrow. The ICSC tracks information from stores that have been open for at least a year but does not include Wal-Mart. It is estimated its index will show at least a 2 percent rise in sales when it is unveiled for February, following up on strong months in January (+3 percent) and December (+3.6 percent).
Let us know if the snow kept you from shopping February by leaving a comment below!
