Retail sales in the U.S. saw a substantial increase in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.
The report said retail sales spiked by 3.0 percent in January after tumbling by 1.1 percent in December. Economists had expected retail sales to jump by 1.8 percent.
Excluding a surge in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still shot up by 2.3 percent in January after falling by a revised 0.9 percent in December.
Ex-auto sales were expected to increase by 0.8 percent compared to the 1.1 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.
