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Estimated retail sales for February fell 9.8%, to $308.1 billion from $341.7 billion during the same period last year, the U.S. Census Bureau announced last week. Retail sales for February remained virtually unchanged month to month, falling 13 basis points from $308.5 billion in January, according to the Census Bureau's Advance Monthly Retail and Food Services Survey, which provides an early estimate of monthly sales for U.S. retail and food-service firms. Each month, the bureau mails questionnaires to approximately 5,000 companies. Consumer spending hit a new low in February as more consumers tried to put more savings aside than in previous months, suggests a recent report by Discover Financial Services (CardLine, 3/4). The Riverwoods, Ill.-based company's monthly U.S. Spending Monitor fell more than two points in February, to 75.7, after showing a slight increase in January. The index was set at 100 when Discover introduced it in 2007. A record high of 82% of consumers in February said they intended to spend the same amount overall during the next month, and 77% said they succeeded in doing so during the previous month.
