Through July 31, 2018. Data are seasonally adjusted and include automobiles and gasoline.
Source: US Census Bureau/Haver Analytics
Total seasonally-adjusted retail sales increased by 6.0% year over year in July, according to the US Census Bureau.
Retail sales increased by 0.4% month over month in July on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Among the major sectors, 12 out of 13 sectors posted positive sales results versus July last year, while only sporting goods, hobby, musical instruments and book stores recorded negative results. Year over year, sales increased by 6.4% at clothing and clothing accessories stores, 4.9% at grocery stores and 0.3% at department stores.
Non-store retailers saw sales grow by 8.7%.
In-Store Metrics
Conv. = conversion rate, ATV = average transaction value, SY = shopper yield, Tran. = number of transactions and % Return = percentage of goods returned to stores.
Source: RetailNext
Store-based sales and traffic declined in July, while conversion rate and average transaction value were positive with return rate metrics remaining flat, according to RetailNext.
- Retail traffic declined by 4.7% year over year in July.
- The average in-store transaction value increased by 1.0% year over year and the number of transactions decreased by 3.0%.
- The conversion rate remained positive year over year for the fourth consecutive month in July, rising by 0.5%.
All geographic regions posted sales and traffic declines in July compared to the same period last year. The Northeast experienced the largest year-over-year sales decline amongst all regions, with sales down 8.2%, whereas the Midwest reported the smallest decline, with sales down 1.7%.
