On Thursday, the Commerce Department said that retail sales have declined in February. The decline has taken place for the third consecutive month.

Last month, retail sales plunged 0.6% and in January, the decline was of 0.8%. The decline might have come because consumers remained hesitant to spend the money that they have been able to save from gasoline prices. Also, bad weather created hindrance for shoppers.

Autos, gasoline, building materials and restaurants were the few areas where sales did well. Dip in temperature and snowstorms affected the sales in February, pushing Americans to stay at home. Sharp decline in gasoline prices dropped the sales in December and January.

Since May, gas station sales increased for the first time last month. Though the gas station sales have increased, the decline in sales continues, which reflects that customers are still remaining cautious. In electronics and appliances, sales have declined 1.2%.

The dip was same in a category that includes department stores and discount retailers. Restaurants reported a 0.6% drop in sales. Michael Feroli, JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s New York-based chief US economist did not find the stats to be really bad.

"There could be some weather effect holding back retail sales. We still have a very good labor market and a lot of other things that are supportive of spending", said Feroli. Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at brokerage BTIG LLC also agreed with Feroli.

Dan said that the data cannot be considered as bad as the headline numbers suggest. But it shall also be noted that the consumer spending has not taken place as some had hoped. Things have become better now and they will lead to increased spending this year, which is considered to be an important driver of economic growth.

Experts affirmed that consumer spending did increase in the fourth quarter by the most in four years.