- February U.S. retail sales excluding automotive and gasoline increased 4.6% Y/Y (adj. for leap year), as per Mastercard SpendingPulse; online sales surged 54.7%.
- Key retail trends:
- With a string of winter storms Feb.20 week ended, retail activity across South (no state more than Texas) was impacted:
- Dallas, Austin and Houston reported Y/Y total retail sale declines of 35-50% (on Feb.17) as retail locations closed amid crippling cold; Texas accounting for ~10-11% of U.S. retail sales volume.
- Online sales activity floated in negative for many consecutive days due to power outages limiting consumers' ability to recharge phones and other devices.
- With weather clearing, recovery spending with daily Y/Y rates exceeding 30% in Dallas, Austin and up to Nashville markets.
- Sector Watch: (NYSE:WMT), (NYSE:TGT), (NYSE:BBY), (NASDAQ:COST), (NYSE:BJ), (NYSE:DG), (NASDAQ:OLLI), (NASDAQ:DLTR)
- ETF Watch: (NYSEARCA:IBUY), (NYSEARCA:XLY)
- Related Read: SA Contributor Todd Sullivan recently wrote, "Retail Sales Hold Strong"