Retail Sales up 1 Percent

The economy shows slow signs of picking up as consumers spent more on retail and food services in November than in October and much more than in the year-ago period.

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported seasonally adjusted retail and food service sales together were up 0.8 percent for November, or total sales of $378.7 billion. That is up nearly 8 percent from 2009’s November.

It’s the fifth straight month the Commerce Department has reported growth.

Retail sales alone were up 0.9 percent from October and more than 8 percent from a year ago.

In mid-November, Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported 9.3 percent increase in its third-quarter sales, mostly tied to its international business. The company had net income of $3.44 billion and it raised its full-year expectations. Its third quarter ended Oct. 31.

Dillard’s Inc. of Little Rock reported third-quarter net income of $14.4 million, up 80 percent from the same period a year ago.

According to the Commerce Department’s November survey, online and other nontraditional brick-and-mortar retailers were up 14.2 percent from last year and automotive sales were up nearly 13 percent.

The Commerce Department bases its monthly sales estimates on sample surveys.