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The value of retail purchases decreased 0.2% after no change in December, Commerce Department data showed March 6. Excluding car dealers, sales were little changed.

The report on Feb. 5 also showed hiring intentions slid 13% from a year earlier to 5,306 — marking the weakest total for any January in the firm’s records back to 2009.

The value of retail purchases, not adjusted for inflation, increased 0.6% after a downwardly revised 0.1% drop in October, Commerce Department data showed Jan. 14.

Motor vehicles fell 1.6%, held down in part by the expiration of federal tax incentives on electric vehicles. Cheaper gasoline prices held down the value of gas station receipts.

In addition to sales expectations and hiring intentions, the overall index was boosted by a slight improvement in plans to increase inventories and earnings trends.

The value of retail purchases, not adjusted for inflation, increased 0.2% after a 0.6% gain in August, Commerce Department data showed, after being delayed due to the government shutdown.

"This comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes,” Challenger, Gray & Christmas said in the report.

U.S. oil production is now expected to fall in 2026 as prices slide, according to a government forecast, reversing years of growth that propelled the country to the world’s top producer.

Global oil markets will face a widening glut in 2026 as OPEC brings back production and output from the U.S., Canada and Guyana continues to grow.

Cyber Weekend e-commerce sales grew 9% in the U.S. this year, up from 6% in 2023, according to data from Salesforce.