Five out of nine retail categories experienced yearly growth in May, with online sales and clothing and accessory stores leading the charge. Online and other non-store sales rose by 2.09 per cent month over month on a seasonally adjusted basis and soared by 17.91 per cent YoY unadjusted. Meanwhile, clothing and accessory stores saw a 1.44 per cent month-over-month increase, seasonally adjusted, and a 6.24 per cent YoY rise, unadjusted, as per NRF.

The core retail sales calculation, which excludes restaurants, automobiles, and gasoline, increased by 1.2 per cent month over month in May and by 2.88 per cent YoY. This contrasts with April's figures, which showed a 0.4 per cent month-over-month increase and a marginal 0.05 per cent YoY decrease.

The first five months of 2024 showed a positive trend overall, with total sales up by 2.13 per cent YoY and core sales up by 2.48 per cent. The month-over-month gains in May were the highest since April 2023, when total sales increased by 1.13 per cent and core sales by 1.27 per cent.

“Consumers have clearly retained their ability to spend and are driving solid economic growth,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. “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.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)