Retail sales rose more than projected in October as Americans snapped up Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhones and demand for automobiles improved, giving the world’s largest economy a boost entering the final quarter of 2011.
The 0.5 percent gain followed a 1.1 percent increase for September, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was a rise of 0.3 percent. Purchases of electronics jumped by the most in two years.
Consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy, needs to keep growing to bolster the expansion as the European credit crisis threatens to slow sales overseas. Nonetheless, retailers like Macy’s Inc. (M) and Kohl’s Corp. (KSS) plan to use discounts to lure shoppers during the holiday season as unemployment hovers around 9 percent and wage gains fail to keep up with inflation.
