Shoppers took a break from their spending in June compared to May as they grapple with the impact of moderating inflation and high interest rates that have increased the cost of buying items on credit. Retail sales remained steady in June, unchanged from the previous month, which was a better outcome than what economists had anticipated. In May, retail sales had been revised up to 0.3%, while April saw a downward revision to a 0.2% decline from an unchanged status. Sales had shown growth in March by 0.6% and in February by 0.9%, following a decline of 1.1% in January due in part to adverse weather conditions.
After excluding gas prices and auto sales, retail sales saw a rise of 0.8%. Notably, online sales increased by 1.9%, while sales at restaurants went up by 0.3%. Sales in clothing and accessories stores also saw a rise of 0.6%.
The government’s retail data does not account for inflation adjustments, which saw a decrease of 0.1% from May to June according to the most recent government report. It is worth noting that high inflation can artificially inflate retail sales figures.
