US clothing retail sales up 711.3% unadjusted YoY in April: NRF

The US Census Bureau said the overall sales had increased by 10.1 per cent month-over-month and 29 per cent year-over-year in March. The year-over-year increases for both March and April were unusually high because most stores were ordered to close beginning in mid-March last year. Despite occasional month-over-month declines, sales have grown year-over-year every month since June 2020.

NRF’s calculation of core retail sales (excluding automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants) showed April was down 1.3 per cent seasonally adjusted from March but up 28.8 per cent unadjusted year-over-year. That compared with a month-over-month increase of 7.6 per cent and a year-over-year increase of 18.9 per cent in March. NRF’s numbers were up 18.3 per cent unadjusted year-over-year on a three-month moving average.

Despite month-over-month declines in two-thirds of retail categories, April retail sales increased across the board on a year-over-year basis, led by massive increases in retailers like clothing and furniture stores that were ordered to close last spring, NRF said.

The report also said that online and other non-store sales were down 0.6 per cent month-over-month seasonally adjusted but up 14.8 per cent unadjusted year-over-year last month. Furniture and home furnishings stores were down 0.7 per cent month-over-month seasonally adjusted but up 199.2 per cent unadjusted year-over-year.

“In March, we saw a surge in spending as stimulus checks came in, and that spending declined slightly in April,” NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Year-over-year growth of 28.8 per cent demonstrates that household finances remain strong, and the economic recovery will likely continue to gain steam as we head into the summer months.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)