Retail sales gained in May, showing significant increases both month over month and year over year, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor as announced by the National Retail Federation.
The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales, which excludes restaurants in addition to automobiles and gasoline, was up 1.2% month over month in May and 2.88% year over year. In April, the number increased 0.4% month over month but slipped 0.05% year over year.
Retail sales were up 2.13% year over year for the first five months of 2024 and core sales advanced 2.48%. The month-over-month gains were the highest since April 2023, when retail sales advanced 1.13% and core sales were up 1.27%.
Sales by channel were, according to NRF:
- General merchandise stores were up 1.31% month over month seasonally adjusted and 4.89% year over year unadjusted.
- Furniture and home furnishings stores were down 0.14% month over month seasonally adjusted and 3.21% year over year unadjusted.
- Building and garden supply stores were down 0.6% month over month, seasonally adjusted, and 0.53% year over year unadjusted.
- Health and personal care stores were up 1.29% month over month, seasonally adjusted, and 6.86% year over year unadjusted.
- Electronics and appliance stores were down 0.05% month over month seasonally adjusted and 0.87% year over year unadjusted.
- Grocery and beverage stores were up 1.97% month over month, seasonally adjusted, and 2.53% year over year unadjusted.
- Electronics and appliance stores were down 0.05% month over month seasonally adjusted and 0.87% year over year unadjusted.
- Sporting goods, hobby, music and bookstores were up 1.04% month over month seasonally adjusted but down 0.71% year over year unadjusted.
- Clothing and accessories stores were up 1.44% month over month, seasonally adjusted, and 6.24% year over year unadjusted.
- Online and other non-store sales were up 2.09% month over month, seasonally adjusted, and 17.91% year over year unadjusted.
“Consumers have clearly retained their ability to spend and are driving solid economic growth,” NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said in announcing the figures. “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.”
Unlike survey-based numbers collected by the United States Census Bureau, Retail Monitor uses anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions and does not need to be revised monthly or annually.
