Richmond Fed, Report: What Are “Core Retail Sales?”

“April’s advance monthly retail sales report showed consumer demand expanding to kick off the second quarter of 2023. Total nominal retail sales including food services rose 0.4 percent monthly, following two months of 0.7 percent declines. Even more impressively, “core retail sales” — which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services — rose 0.7 percent monthly after a 0.4 percent drop the previous month. But why do some economists and economy-watchers emphasize the core measure of retail sales, and why exclude these four categories?”