Retail Sales are the total amount of merchandise and related services sold to consumers. It is considered a sign of strength of U.S. Consumer spending, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of the economy. This indicator also provides insight into which areas of the retail space are experiencing strong sales, such as auto sales.
Retail sales excluding food rose to 0.36% in June, up slightly from 0.33% growth in April. Year-over-year sales in June were up 3.2%. Total retail sales saw a .43% increase in June and was up 3.42% from June of 2018.
Continued strong retail sales is important to the economy because retail sales have a strong link with what future GDP looks like. Since 70% of consumer spending makes up GDP, increases in retail sales provide a positive outlook for the economy in the future. Even small changes to the retail numbers has the potential for big changes in the US economy. Fluctuations in food prices tends to be a volatile part of retail sales, taking food sales out of the calculation allow for a more stable reading as to how the rest of retail sales preforms. We see the trend of rising retail sales continuing on the backs of strong employment data.
July 16, 2019