October saw a rebound in retail sales driven by a robust economy and rising US consumer confidence. Online sales rose 1.84 percent month over month, or 19.38 percent year over year, while physical stores saw a modest monthly decline of 0.57 percent but an annual gain of 8.56 percent.

According to the most recent CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor powered by Affinity Solutions, which was published by the National Retail Federation (NRF), US retail sales October saw a strong resurgence, driven by consumer spending surge and a strong economy. The month marked a significant improvement over September, when concerns about port strikes and international tensions had hurt sales.

Online and non-store sales increased by a robust 1.84 percent each month, which is an amazing 19.38 percent gain over the previous year. In contrast, physical retail categories such as apparel and accessories had a modest monthly decline of 0.57 percent but reported a robust annual growth of 8.56 percent.

With the exception of fuel and automobiles, total retail sales increased by 4.13 percent year over year and 0.74 percent month over month. This followed a challenging September in which, due to economic uncertainty, sales decreased by 0.32 percent month over month and only climbed by 0.55% year over year, according to a news release from the NRF.

The biggest yearly gain since August 2023 was recorded by the core retail sales indicator, which does not include restaurants, car dealers, or petrol stations. It increased by 0.83 percent month over month and 4.59 percent year over year.

The retail industry demonstrated endurance in the face of shifting external conditions as overall retail sales from January to October 2024 climbed by 2.13 percent year over year, while core sales saw a 2.42 percent gain.

Healthy spending returned in October, according to NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay, as consumers continued to reap the benefits of this year's job growth and income increases. Right now, the majority of inflation is restricted to services, and the cost of certain retail products is actually declining. The holiday shopping season is off to a strong start thanks to October retail trends.