Electronics Sales Glowing, Apparel Drab

The retail figures are in for November: So far, so good. Retail sales rose 1% last month, compared to the previous month. Excluding autos, sales rose 1.1%. Electronics rose 4.6%, leading the pack.

Citigroup retail analyst Kimberley Greenberger called the big jump in technology goodies “surprising.” It was the category's biggest gain since January. She told “Morning Call” that electronics buoyed up the S&P retail index, which gained 0.50% in November – despite lackluster apparel sales.