retail sales numbers Archives - Marketplace

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Did retail sales grow because we bought more stuff, or did the stuff get more expensive?

by Justin Ho

Oct 17, 2023

The way the Census Bureau calculates its retail sales data wasn't an issue until prices started rising a couple years back.

Grocery store spending rose 0.4% in September, according to the Census Bureau.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

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Why gas prices loom so large in the way we think about the economy

by Andy Uhler

Apr 14, 2022

They helped push up retail sales in March, but they're already coming back down.

The biggest increases in spending last month were on food and beverages, and, of course, at gas stations, according to Commerce Department Data.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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