Reuters/Eduardo Munoz
Jaime Gonzalez celebrates after buying the iPhone 7 smartphone outside an Apple Inc. store in New York, U.S., September 16, 2016.
Economists forecast that sales rose 0.6% month-on-month, according to the Bloomberg consensus estimate. Excluding auto and gas sales which tend to be volatile, they forecast that so-called core retail sales increased by 0.3%.
This monthly report provides a pulse reading on consumer spending, which is the most important driver of US economic growth.
"A strong reading for October retail sales would position the consumer for a strong 2016 holiday shopping season, which would be beneficial for fourth quarter consumer discretionary sector corporate earnings growth," said S&P Global Market Intelligence strategists in a note on Monday.
"Other than the single month of strength recorded earlier this year in February, retail sales have not grown by more than 3% vs the year-ago period since Jan. 2015."