Most major retail sectors saw sales increases in February

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Retail sales performed generally well last month despite snowstorms and other severe weather around the country, according to data released Wednesday by SpendingPulse, an information service of MasterCard Advisors.

Online commerce posted its seventh straight month of double-digit growth, with a 16.7% increase over February 2009, SpendingPulse said. The group estimates sales for all forms of payment, including cash, checks and credit cards.

Kamalesh Rao, director of economic research at SpendingPulse, said online sales may have benefited from shoppers who bought at their computers rather than brave poor weather to go to the malls.

Luxury sales excluding jewelry were up 15.2% over February 2009, following an 8.1% year-over-year gain in January and a 5.5% year-over-year gain in December.

Sales of consumer electronics were up 5.8%, their sixth consecutive monthly increase, and footwear gained 2.2%.

The apparel sector continued to struggle after posting a slight 0.6% increase in January. Last month sales fell 1.8% as poor weather kept shoppers at home in many areas. Women’s apparel was down 1.6%.

“We’re just kind of scratching our heads -- we don’t know why apparel continues to struggle as it does,” Rao said. But “overall the picture for the discretionary sector seemed to be pretty good.”

-- Andrea Chang