Retail sales climbed around the world in February
As the second quarter of 2014 begins, reports of month-over-month retail sales from countries around the world have begun to pour in, and most nations have seen improvements. For some nations, retail business intelligence reports from February were in line with expert predictions, while others saw better-than-anticipated improvements in this sector.
United States
The U.S. was one country where retail sales beat out expectations. Reuters reported that sales across the nation fell 0.4 percent in January, so economists were cautiously optimistic that they would increase 0.2 percent in February. However, once the month came to an end, February saw a rise of 0.3 percent, just slightly beating predictions.
United Kingdom
Food and online retail drove sales up in the U.K. this February, which saw an annual increase of 3.7 percent, according to Bloomberg News. This is three times higher than experts had predicted, showing that Britain's recovery from the recent global economic slump is continuing.
"Consumers are still loosening their purse strings," Samuel Tombs, a British economist told the source. He explained that the latest numbers show the economic growth is so far remaining strong in 2014.
Australia
Things are going well in Australia as well, as February marks the 10th consecutive month of growth for the nation's retail sector. The Sydney Morning Herald pointed to low interest rates as a driving factor of the 0.2 percent increase in retail spending. Unlike the U.S. and the U.K., Australia did not outpace predictions. Rather, the nation's retail market is behaving just as economists guessed it would.
However, the upward trend may slow in coming months, as one expert told the Herald that a dip in consumer confidence may result in slowed growth.
Eurozone
Unlike Australia, the Eurozone experienced a rise in retail sales that far surpassed expectations. Experts had predicted this region would see a 0.5 percent decline, but it turned out that February's retail spending actually climbed 0.4 percent, according to RTT News. The news source indicated that while the month-over-month increase was good news, it didn't change much in annual terms.
As sales improve on a global scale, there is room for retailers to improve and expand their businesses. For instance, taking advantage of point of sale and ecommerce software to streamline and improve the buyer experience can help draw in and retain more customers.
