this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt susie: good evening everyone. the consumer keeps spending. tom, americans were opening up their wallets in october, giving a boost to retail sales. tom: susie, that report was surprisingly strong, and the nation s retailers are hoping this means a green christmas. the commerce department reported retail sales rose 1.2% in october, that follows a 0.7% increase in september. susie: today s results were the largest gain in seven months. as erika miller explains, that s welcome news for more than just the nation s merchants. reporter: when you think of retail sales, you probably think of shopping bags. and cash registers. but the big driver of retail sales in october doesn t have either. sales at auto dealerships posted their biggest gain since the last year s cash for clunkers program, up more than 5%. economist jonathan basile sees that as a particularl
this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt susie: good evening everyone. the consumer keeps spending. tom, americans were opening up their wallets in october, giving a boost to retail sales. tom: susie, that report was surprisingly strong, and the nation s retailers are hoping this means a green christmas. the commerce department reported retail sales rose 1.2% in october, that follows a 0.7% increase in september. susie: today s results were the largest gain in seven months. as erika miller explains, that s welcome news for more than just the nation s merchants. reporter: when you think of retail sales, you probably think of shopping bags. and cash registers. but the big driver of retail sales in october doesn t have either. sales at auto dealerships posted their biggest gain since the last year s cash for clunkers program, up more than 5%. economist jonathan basile sees that as a particularl
this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt susie: good evening everyone. the consumer keeps spending. tom, americans were opening up their wallets in october, giving a boost to retail sales. tom: susie, that report was surprisingly strong, and the nation s retailers are hoping this means a green christmas. the commerce department reported retail sales rose 1.2% in october, that follows a 0.7% increase in september. susie: today s results were the largest gain in seven months. as erika miller explains, that s welcome news for more than just the nation s merchants. reporter: when you think of retail sales, you probably think of shopping bags. and cash registers. but the big driver of retail sales in october doesn t have either. sales at auto dealerships posted their biggest gain since the last year s cash for clunkers program, up more than 5%. economist jonathan basile sees that as a particularl
this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt susie: good evening everyone. the consumer keeps spending. tom, americans were opening up their wallets in october, giving a boost to retail sales. tom: susie, that report was surprisingly strong, and the nation s retailers are hoping this means a green christmas. the commerce department reported retail sales rose 1.2% in october, that follows a 0.7% increase in september. susie: today s results were the largest gain in seven months. as erika miller explains, that s welcome news for more than just the nation s merchants. reporter: when you think of retail sales, you probably think of shopping bags. and cash registers. but the big driver of retail sales in october doesn t have either. sales at auto dealerships posted their biggest gain since the last year s cash for clunkers program, up more than 5%. economist jonathan basile sees that as a particularl
this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt susie: good evening everyone. the consumer keeps spending. tom, americans were opening up their wallets in october, giving a boost to retail sales. tom: susie, that report was surprisingly strong, and the nation s retailers are hoping this means a green christmas. the commerce department reported retail sales rose 1.2% in october, that follows a 0.7% increase in september. susie: today s results were the largest gain in seven months. as erika miller explains, that s welcome news for more than just the nation s merchants. reporter: when you think of retail sales, you probably think of shopping bags. and cash registers. but the big driver of retail sales in october doesn t have either. sales at auto dealerships posted their biggest gain since the last year s cash for clunkers program, up more than 5%. economist jonathan basile sees that as a particularl