Retail Sales Blossom in March

Analysts were expecting a total monthly increase of 0.8% and a monthly rise of 0.4% excluding autos and auto parts.

Excluding auto and auto parts sales, retail sales in March rose 0.7% month over month and 2.6% year over year. For the quarter sales excluding autos and parts rose 1.8%.

Automobile sales in March rose 3.4%, compared with February, and 9.5% from March 2013. Building materials and garden supply sales rose 1.8% from February and 5.7% year over year. Non-store retailers (i.e., online stores) saw sales rise 1.7% over February and 7.8% year over year in March. For the first quarter, non-store sales rose 6.2% year over year.

Gasoline sales fell 1.3% compared with February and fell 3.3% compared with sales a year ago. For the quarter, gasoline sales were down 2.5% compared with the first quarter of 2013.

The rise in sales is a positive sign for the U.S. economy, but as always, the question is how long the uptick will last.