Retail sales surged last month, with significant month-over-month and year-over-year gains, according to the latest CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor.
“Consumers have clearly retained their ability to spend and are driving solid economic growth,” National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a news release. “Spending is being supported by the job market and real wage gains. Inflation remains stubborn but is almost entirely in services rather than retail goods. May’s year-over-year gains are in line with what we saw earlier this year, and the month-over-month increases are the largest in more than a year. We believe this underscores that April’s moderation was an outlier.”
Total retail sales — excluding automobiles and gasoline — rose 1.35% on a seasonally adjusted basis MoM and up 3.03% (unadjusted) YoY in May, the Retail Monitor found. April saw growth of 0.26% MoM and a 0.6% drop YoY.
The Retail Monitor found core retail sales (excluding restaurants, autos and gas) climbed 1.2% MoM in May and 2.88% YoY. That’s compared with a 0.4% MoM hike and a 0.05% drop YoY in April.
Total sales increased 2.13% YoY for the first five months of 2024, the Retail Monitor found, with the year and core sales were up 2.48%. The MoM gains were the highest since April 2023, when total sales rose 1.13% and core sales rose 1.27%.
A breakdown of key sectors:
Online and other non-store sales: +2.09% MoM seasonally adjusted; +17.91% YoY unadjusted.
Health and personal care stores: +1.29% MoM seasonally adjusted; +6.86% YoY unadjusted.
Clothing and accessories stores: +1.44% MoM seasonally adjusted and up 6.24% year over year unadjusted.
General merchandise stores: +1.31% MoM seasonally adjusted; +4.89% YoY unadjusted.
Grocery and beverage stores: +1.97% MoM seasonally adjusted; +2.53% YoY unadjusted.
Building and garden supply stores: -0.6% MoM seasonally adjusted; -0.53% YoY unadjusted.
Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores: +1.04% MoM seasonally adjusted; -0.71% YoY unadjusted.
Electronics and appliance stores: -0.05% MoM seasonally adjusted; -0.87% YoY unadjusted.
Furniture and home furnishings stores: -0.14% MoM seasonally adjusted; -3.21% YoY unadjusted.
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