The US-based National Retail Federation (NRF) has released data showing that retail sales in the country increased by 0.6% in June compared to the previous month.
The figures, based on data from the US Census Bureau, showed that overall sales during the month rose by 18% year-over-year (YoY).
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Sales for the first half of the year increased by 16.4% over the same period of last year.
Sales during the month were driven by clothing, electronics and furniture stores. The annual Amazon Prime Day promotion, along with promotions from several other leading retailers, also contributed to the growth in sales.
Clothing and clothing accessory stores saw their sales rise by 2.6% from May levels and up by 49.4% unadjusted YoY, while sales in electronics and appliance stores increased by 3.3% from the previous month.
Online and other non-store sales grew by 1.2% month-over-month seasonally adjusted and 12% unadjusted YoY.
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By GlobalDataSales in grocery and beverage stores increased by 0.6% from the previous month and 3.7% unadjusted YoY.
NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said: “The economy and consumption are particularly sensitive to government policy, and the boost we saw from government support earlier in the year is continuing to show benefits.
“[The] reopening of both stores and the overall economy has progressed, and even higher prices seen in some retail categories reflecting the push-and-pull of supply chain challenges haven’t proven to be a deterrent to spending.
“As more people get vaccinated and get out, some of the growth will shift to services rather than retail, but there’s enough momentum to support both.”
In response to this growth, the NRF has revised its forecast for the year, with retail sales now expected to grow by 10.5-13.5% YoY to between $4.44tn and $4.56tn.
In May, overall retail sales dropped by 1.3% seasonally adjusted from April.
