April 6, 2018
The U.S. Commerce Department recently released its total retail sales data (including autos, gasoline stations and restaurants), which increased 1.2 percent seasonally adjusted over September and 5.4 percent unadjusted year-over-year. Specific categories posted the following:
Clothing and clothing accessory stores:
0.7 percent increase month-to-month and 1.4 percent increase year-over-year
Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores:
1.0 percent increase month-to-month and 5.9 percent increase year-over-year
Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers:
1.9 percent increase month-to-month and 7.3 percent increase year-over-year
Health and personal care stores:
0.1 percent decline month-to-month and 1.6 percent increase year-over-year
"This continued momentum is good news for the industry, especially with Black Friday and Cyber Monday quickly approaching," says Matthew Shay, NRF's president and chief executive officer. "While there is no question that consumer demand has improved, there are still questions about consumer confidence tied to high unemployment. We need to see improvement in key economic indicators to sustain any long-term growth."
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