May retail sales in US have seen an increase of 0.7% because of a rise in sales of clothing retailers. Clothing and clothing accessory store sales have seen an increase of 1.3% from April whereas it was 8.3% year over year.
NRF’s numbers said overall May sales which include automobiles, restaurants and gasoline were up by 0.8% seasonally adjusted from April and up 5.9% year-over-year. The increase in sales was due to consumers continuing to spend prompted by a growing economy.
Mr Jack Kleinhenz, NRF chief economist said, “The economy is looking strong and households have a solid financial foundation on which to base their spending. We have seen ongoing momentum over the last several months and believe sales growth should remain healthy and consistent with our 2018 outlook. Nonetheless, inflation and rising oil prices are complicating the picture. And new tariffs or a trade war would certainly be negatives that would increase prices and reduce both consumer purchasing power and consumer confidence.”
During the month, online and other non-store sales were up 9.1 per cent year-over-year and up 0.1 per cent over April seasonally adjusted. However, sporting goods sales have decreased by 0.5% and over the year 0.1%.
NRF 2018 forecast of growth in retail sales between 3.8% – 4.4% over 2017.
