NRF Retail Monitor/CNBC have revealed that retail sales garnered moderate growth in June, amid a still-solid economy and near-zero inflation for retail goods.
“Consumers are being thoughtful about their spending, prioritizing non-discretionary purchases as they continue to face high interest rates and lingering inflation,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Inflation has dropped to nearly zero for goods, but remains persistent with services, and solid economic fundamentals are helping consumers make ends meet. Month-over-month sales growth was moderate in June, and year-over-year gains for total retail sales were the largest we’ve seen since last fall.”
Total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were up 0.47% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 3.42% unadjusted year over year in June, according to the Retail Monitor. That is compared with increases of 1.35% month over month and 3.03% year over year in May.
The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales (excluding restaurants in addition to automobiles and gasoline) was up 0.3% month over month in June and up 3.07% year over year. In May, that same statistic represented a 1.2% increase month over month and 2.88% year-over-year.
Total sales were up 2.39% year over year for the first six months of the year and core sales were up 2.62%. The year-over-year gain for total sales was the largest since 4.24% last November and the year-over-year gain for core sales was the largest since 3.24% this January.
These findings were discovered by the Retail Monitor, which uses actual, anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions.
June sales were up in five out of nine retail categories on a yearly basis, led by online sales, general merchandise stores and clothing and accessory stores.
More information about the report can be found here.
