Our measure of core retail sales is the unadjusted year-over-year change, excluding gasoline and automobiles. This metric stood at 3.2% in May, down from 5.8% in April and up from 0.9% and 2.5% in March and Febuary, respectively. A late Easter this year contributed to March’s weakness and April’s bounce, in unadjusted terms. [caption id="attachment_91190" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Data is not seasonally adjusted
Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research [/caption]   Retail Sales Declines Month Over Month The Census Bureau’s own core metric is seasonally adjusted retail sales including automobiles and gasoline. Sales by this measure grew 3.1% year over year in May, slightly slower than the 3.5% growth rate seen in April. On a month-over-month basis and seasonally adjusted, retail sales declined 0.5% in May. [caption id="attachment_91184" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Data is seasonally adjusted
Source: US Census Bureau [/caption]   Retail Sales Growth by Sector Several sectors saw slower growth in May than in April, including food retailers, health and personal care stores and general merchandise stores. After posting strong growth in April, sales fell in May in the building materials and garden supplies and clothing segments. Sales at department stores worsened, to a 3.3% decline in May from a 0.9% fall in April. Nonstore retailers continued to post solid growth, albeit slower, at 11.4% versus 12.9% in April. [caption id="attachment_91185" align="aligncenter" width="700"] This data is not seasonally adjusted
Source: US Census Bureau [/caption]