Retail sales account for a large part of consumer spending, which itself is typically the largest segment of GDP in an advanced economy. Changes in retail sales have a large effect on GDP growth rates and thus they are of great interest to economists, policy makers and financial markets.
US retail sales had been weak through the Christmas period and into the first couple of months in 2018 but then figures from March onwards marked a divergence from this trend. The last four months, including the latest June figures, paint a picture of a robust consumer sector.
According to the latest “advance” sales numbers released by the US Census Bureau, retail sales grew by 0.5% over the month and by 6.5% when compared with the same period last year. The figures were less than the 0.6% increase expected and down from May’s comparable figure after it had been revised up from +0.8% to +1.3%.