Retail spending was up exactly as expected in April, according to the Census Bureau’s latest report…(Census Bureau)
- M-O-M: Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales were up 0.9% to $677.7 billion, an increase of 0.9% from the previous month. Economists had projected 0.9% as well.
- Y-O-Y: Retail spending was up 8.2% compared to the same time last year, this us up from 7.3% in March.
Miscellaneous store retailers had the best month with sales up 4.0% followed by motor vehicle & parts dealers (+2.2) and online retailers (+2.1%).
- Despite a 2.7% drop, gas stations are still having the best year with sales up 36.9% year-over-year in April followed by restaurants (+19.8%) and miscellaneous store retailers (+18.6%).
REMINDER: Retail spending is not adjusted for inflation. The latest CPI print had prices only up 0.3% month-over-month, but year-over-year prices were up 8.3%. This means, adjusting for inflation, retail spending is down 0.1%.
ANALYSIS: Lyn Alden, Founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy, noted on Twitter “The base effects from spring 2021 admittedly make it look worse than it is, but still. A lot of these gains are just price spikes, not volumes.”