US consumers came back to stores in April, spending more than expected to reverse a worrying slowdown in the first quarter of the year, Commerce Department data showed today.
But with April's gains mostly in car sales and petrol - the latter due to rising prices - the data in other categories was still not as robust as hoped.
Retail sales, including food services, jumped 1.3% from March, to $453.4 billion, and were up 3% from a year ago.
Analysts had expected a 0.8% rebound from March.
April car sales, up 3.2%, came after a downturn the previous month.
Also pushing up the figures last month were sales of petrol, which gained 2.2% as prices rose. Food and beverage sales also rebounded, gaining 0.9%.
But in many categories the gains just barely reversed the declines of March, and it was not clear how strong the rebound will be in the months ahead.
The overall pace of US sales remains modest, pointing to slow but steady overall economic growth.
Total US retail sales for the three-month period from February to April were up just 0.3% from the previous quarter. Excluding cars, retail sales were up 0.6% from the previous quarter.
