Holiday, Auto Buying Fuel Retail Sales Surge

Retail sales jumped 1.1% in November, the government said today, as retailers headed into the final week and a half of the crucial Christmas shopping season.

The Commerce Department said sales rose $1.5 billion to a seasonally adjusted $138.1 billon. That followed an even bigger 1.6% rise in October, the strongest in eight months. October had previously been estimated as a 0.9% increase.

Both months were bolstered by a surge in car buying, but even excluding autos, sales rose a strong 0.9% in November and 0.8% in October.

Sales at department and other general merchandise stores shot up 1.1% last month to a seasonally adjusted $15.8 billion, after a 2.6% rise in October.

In a separate report earlier this month, major department store chains reported mostly sluggish sales through much of November and then a surge over the Thanksgiving weekend as holiday shoppers flooded the stores.

The holidays are crucial for general retailers because they earn about half their annual profit at this time.

Auto sales last month rose 2% to $30.9 billion after a 4.6% increase a month earlier.