Consumers focused more on buying necessities than discretionary items in January, edging up retail sales 2 percent unadjusted over last year and 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted from December, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

January retail sales released today by the U.S. Commerce Department show total retail sales (including non-general-merchandise categories such as automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 4.6 percent unadjusted over last year and 0.3 percent seasonally adjusted from December.

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