November's retail sales came in at +0.6% month-over-month, beating the +0.5% forecast but improving from the prior month's -0.1% (which was also revised upward from flat). Looking at the details: sales excluding autos printed +0.5%, a solid uptick from the +0.2% prior reading (though revised down from initial expectations of +0.4%). The control group, which strips out auto and gas sales, settled at +0.4%—a step back from +0.6% the month before and notably revised lower from the +0.8% initially reported. The mixed picture here matters for how we think about consumer health and market direction heading into next quarter.