What's going on?

Data out on Wednesday showed that US retail sales rose by the most in 10 months in January, even as one big nuisance keeps pestering the country�s shoppers.

What does this mean?

Inflation or no inflation, retail sales in the country were 3.8% higher last month than the month before � well up on the 2% that economists were expecting, and a long way from December�s 2.5% drop. Americans seem to have stuck to their online shopping habits, with so-called �nonstore retailers� posting a 15% gain. But they seemed keen on furniture and cars too, whose sales were up around 7% and 6% respectively. And while it�s true that restaurant and bar sales fell almost 1%, that shouldn�t worry anyone too much: there are only so many cocktail nights you can have when record Covid cases cause a new batch of restrictions, after all�

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: This might not last long.
Shoppers might already be getting buyers� remorse: data out last week showed US consumer sentiment ��a measure of how the public feels about their finances and the wider economy � is now at its lowest in over a decade. That stands to reason: more and more companies are raising their prices to balance out their own higher costs, while the US government is bringing its support packages to an end � both of which will limit how far the average shopper�s money will go.

Zooming out: Turn off your screens.
This online shopping boom has worked out well for Shopify: the ecommerce platform reported on Wednesday that it processed 32% more in sales last quarter than the same time in 2020, helping boost total quarterly revenue by a better-than-expected 41%. That pushed its revenue for last year up 57%, but it�s not feeling so good about this one: it�s expecting shoppers to keep swapping screens for stores as the pandemic continues to fade.