U.S. Retail Sales rose by 0.1% (month-over-month) in January, 2013 to $416.6 billion. The meager rise was supported by an increase in sales at general merchandise stores (1.1%), non-store retailers (0.9%), and grocery stores (0.6%). Retail sales were expected to be limited after a temporary 2 percentage point cut in the Social Security payroll tax expired on January 1st, 2013. Year-over-year, retail sales rose by 4.4%.
