U.S. Retail Sales Collapse in February as Government and Media Attempt Denial That Economy Is Contracting

 Source:

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/03/16/u-s-retail-sales-collapse-as-govt-and-media-attempt-denial-that-economy-is-contracting/

"When retail sales are calculated, they are calculated in dollars.  

Any recorded increase in retail sales that does not exceed the price increases in those items is factually reflecting a drop in units sold.

Ex. – if you sell 300 items at $1.00 each, you have $300 in sales.

If you sell 250 items at $1.25 each, you have $312.50 in sales.  

Technically, you have a 4.1% increase in sales.  

However, you have sold 17% fewer items (50 units).

When you are selling less stuff, your business (economy) is contracting, not expanding.  

.... A contraction has not been recognized because massive inflation is hiding it.  

(AP) Retail sales increased 0.3% after registering a revised 4.9% jump from December to January, fueled by wage gains, solid hiring and more money in banking accounts, according to the Commerce Department.

January’s increase was the biggest jump in spending since last March, when American households received a final federal stimulus check of $1,400.

Business at furniture and home furnishing stores fell 1% in February, while sales at consumer electronics and appliance stores slipped 0.6%.

General merchandise stores saw business down 0.2%, while online sales fell 3.7%.

Restaurant sales rose 2.5% as shoppers shift more of their spending to services as the threat of COVID-19 fades.

Take the figures above and compare them to the sector inflation in February (Table-2, BLS Report)  

– Just sticking to what is above:

    Furniture prices rose 0.8% in Feb,
total furniture sales dropped 1.0%

    Electronics and appliances rose around 1.8% in Feb,
sales dropped 0.6%

    Online sales items rose in price around 0.5%,
sales dropped 3.7%

... In most cases the unit sales dropped at a rate six times the price difference.  

If you reverse engineer the math, the average is approximately a 15% reduction in durable good units purchased.

This (Could  mean,  Ye Editor) means people working in the durable goods sector, production, assembly, transportation, delivery and retail sales staff, are about to get laid off work, RIF’d and downsized.

... Ordinary people are prioritizing spending and watching their wages get chewed up by higher prices for food, energy, fuel and housing.  

If you live in a predominantly working class or blue-collar area, when you start seeing contraction locally, you can be sure it will show up nationally."