Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 4:56PM This article about price differentiation is an interesting read. I was aware some retailers were using this technology but it seems it's much more wide spread than I realized.
5 Valid Reasons For Retailers To Price Differentiate By Geography: http://upstreamcommerce.com/blog/2013/01/08/5-valid-reasons-retailers-price-differentiate-geography#.UOyVc4QoK-4.twitter
Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at 7:23AM Home Depot Inc.'s (HD) fiscal third-quarter earnings edged up 1.4% as the home-improvement-products retailer recorded strong revenue growth and slightly wider margins.
Tuesday, Mr. Blake said results for the quarter "were better than we expected and reflected, in part, what we believe is the start of the path toward the healing of the housing market."
Same-store sales rose 4.2%, reflecting a 4.3% increase in the U.S. The average ticket was $54.55, a 2.9% rise from $53.03 a year earlier, while the number of customer transactions edged up 1.7%.
Monday, November 5, 2012 at 1:54PM RedPrairie and JDA Software announced a definitive merger agreement today. Many of our vendors use JDA plan o gram software for managing their store modulars so this is an interesting development. The "merger" sounds more like a RedPrairie acquisition of JDA based on the language in the PR. Home Depot in particular, but other large retailers as well, have essentially told vendors they must use JDA software for POG management so it will be interesting to see if that changes now. What does this mean for all the money vendors have put into complying with retailers POG requirements?
Sunday, November 4, 2012 at 11:41AM As a group our Home Depot vendors are up 9% YTD over the prior year comp for US stores, Canadian stores are up 96%. (the Canadian sample is smaller) Lowe’s stores are up 2% YTD over the prior year comp for US stores. Home Depot will be releasing Q3 2012 earnings results on November 13 and Lowe’s releases their earnings on Nov 19. We typically find that our vendors who are aggressively using POS data to drive business improvements are out in front of their competitors so I wonder how earnings overall will compare to our sample group of vendors who are doing pretty well on a year over year basis?
Friday, November 2, 2012 at 9:45AM Retail sales rose in October which is encouraging, and optimism for a good holiday sales period appear to be growing. Some report highlights:
Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at 11:11AM WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation released its 2012 holiday forecast on Tuesday, which shows sales increasing 4.1% to $586.1 billion, down from last year's 5.6% growth.
However, the NRF's 2012 estimate tops the 10-year holiday sales growth average of 3.5%.
"This is the most optimistic forecast NRF has released since the recession. In spite of the uncertainties that exist in our economy and among consumers, we believe we'll see solid holiday sales growth this year," NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said. "Variables including an upcoming presidential election, confusion surrounding the 'fiscal cliff' and concern relating to future economic growth could all combine to affect consumers' spending plans, but overall we are optimistic that retailers promotions will hit the right chord with holiday shoppers."
Recent government data released show a crosscurrent of indicators that could impact holiday sales, including unimpressive job and income growth and an unemployment rate stuck at 8%. However, positive indicators are emerging that show a cautious but capable consumer, such as increases in confidence and home prices.
"While moderate compared to what we experienced the last two holiday seasons, the forecast is a very pragmatic look at what to expect this year given the current rate of economic growth," NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said.
In preparation for the holiday selling season, NRF has forecasted that retailers will hire between 585,000 and 625,000 seasonal workers, compared with the 607,500 seasonal employees hired last year.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012 at 11:04AM The role of analytics in retail has evolved substantially over the past few years and it’s having a significant positive impact. The days of hearing a vendor say “Oh, we get an EDI 852 but we don’t really do anything with it” are starting to fade into the rear view mirror. This blog post will discuss some of the mega trends we see occurring in business intelligence in retail and their impact on demand planning and forecasting.
Retailers are much more open to sharing point of sale (POS) data with vendors now than they were a few years ago. Wal-Mart paved the road with Retail Link, which gives vendors access to a wealth of data, and most other retailers use EDI 852 or a web site of some kind to make data available. [As a side note there are some major retailers like ACE Hardware and Publix that still refuse to share POS data, which is pretty amazing] Mega-trend: retailers will begin to expand the metrics they share and they will slowly move toward providing daily data. We have recently seen retailers begin to share on hand data and sales dollars which they had not shared previously. Providing those additional data elements enables category management and demand planners to greatly expand their analytics. We are also seeing retailers begin to make daily data available, which is probably the most exciting development in business intelligence for retail. Demand planning and forecasting for retail is dramatically improved by daily data vs. weekly data and daily data creates the opportunity for things like weather analysis.
Key performance indicators for retail are pretty easy to define and calculate. Sell-through, weeks of supply, year over year comp or % change, gross margin, gross margin return on investment, etc. We find however that many demand planners do not have the time or tools to monitor KPI’s at the store / SKU level of detail which diminishes the value that should be realized. Mega-trend: vendors are using cloud based software as a service (SaaS) to get access to sophisticated retail reporting without having to invest into business intelligence tools and a bunch of expensive development. Retail point of sale reporting and analytics can basically be purchased ‘out of the box’ and then customized to fit your precise business needs in a very small amount of time. When a large customer like The Home Depot is asking you to get into the POS data, you don’t have the luxury of waiting on your IT team. Outsourcing your retail POS reporting and analytics provides a very fast path to keeping your customer happy.
Mega-trend: Vendors use of EDI 852 and POS analytics will become more and more sophisticated. Not that long ago, when a vendor invested in POS reporting, they were getting ahead of their peers by using technology to improve their business. They would build relatively simple retail dashboards with key performance indicators for retail stores, like units and dollars sold. Today, however, we are seeing increasingly complex analysis for demand planning and forecasting, complex retail replenishment models, category management and even weather and demographic analysis. This is a natural evolution of business intelligence in retail and it is driven by the availability of SaaS tools and very real results that vendors are experiencing.
Thursday, August 23, 2012 at 1:20PM Lowe's posted declines in net sales, comp-store sales and earnings in the second quarter ended August 3.
"Our results fell short of our overall expectations," said Robert Niblock, Lowe's chairman, president and CEO. "However, I have confidence in our strategy and in our employees, and while we recognize the significant magnitude of change that we've asked the organization to absorb as we transform our business, we fully understand that we must improve our level of execution."
The world's second largest home improvement retailer posted sales of $14.2 billion in the quarter, down 2.0% from $14.5 billion in the same quarter last year. Comp-store sales in the quarter were negative 0.4%. Earnings of $747 million were down 10.0% from the same quarter a year ago.
The quarterly comparisons in 2012, which is a 52 week year, are impacted by a shift in comparable weeks. For the six month period, comparable store sales increased 1.0%.
Currently, Lowe's operates 1,748 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with 196.8 million square feet of retail selling space. That compares with rival Home Depot's store count of 2,255 stores. Last week, Home Depot reported gains in comps and sales and a double digit percentage gain in net earnings.
See related article: http://www.acceleratedanalytics.com/blog/2012/8/15/earnings-jump-124-at-home-depot.html
Source: retailingtoday.com
Thursday, August 23, 2012 at 10:30AM The U.S. Census Bureau announced that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for July, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $403.9 billion, an increase of 0.8 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month and 4.1 percent (±0.7%) above July 2011. Total sales for the May through July 2012 period were up 4.3 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The May to June 2012 percent change was revised from -0.5 percent (±0.5%) to -0.7% (±0.2%).
Retail trade sales were up 0.8 percent (±0.5%) from June 2012 and 3.7 percent (±0.7%) above last year. Nonstore retailers sales were up 11.8 percent (±3.1%) from July 2011 and sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores were up 10.6 percent (±4.3%) from last year.
Source: census.gov
Friday, August 17, 2012 at 3:34PM A fourth consecutive quarter of same store sales growth at Walmart's U.S. business helped the company achieve a slightly better than expected profit performance.
Second quarter earnings grew 8.3% to $1.18, one cent better than the consensus estimate of analysts and at the top of the company's forecast range of $1.13 to $1.18. Total company sales increased 4.5% to $113.5 billion, and net income increased 5.7% to slightly more than $4 billion. The key driver of the improved performance was continued strength of the Walmart U.S. business where same store sales increased 2.2%, within the company's guidance range calling for an increase of 1% to 3%.
"I'm really pleased with the continued momentum we see in our Walmart U.S. stores, and this now marks three consecutive quarters of positive comp trafic and four quarters of positive comp sales," said Wal-Mart Stores president and CEO Mike Duke. "There's such a clear focus among the leadership team to drive the strategy of broad assortment and price leadership. We continue to win back customers and attract new ones. We will not let up on our passion to reduce operating expenses so that we can invest in lower prices. This is the promise that our customers expect from Walmart and what drives greater loyalty."
Sales at U.S. stores grew 3.8% to $67.4 billion, while operating profits increased 5.3% to $5.25 billion.
"Customers are responding to our continued focus on providing the right assortment at everyday low prices," said Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon. "During the quarter, our average comp traffic increase was equal to serving an average of 80,000 additional customers every day of the 13-week period."
"We believe that the improvements in our quality and overall merchandise offerings are key to driving these results," said Sam's Club president and CEO Rosalind Brewer. "In fact, member engagement scores continue to achieve record levels. We're also investing in price to deliver greater value on top of these quality improvements."
Internationally, sales increased 6.4% on a constant currency basis to $32 billion and operating profits increased 5.4% to nearly $1.5 billion. A strengthening of the U.S. dollar had a major impact on the comparisons to the prior year. On a constant currency basis sales would have increased by 7.2% to $32.3 billion and operating profits would have increased 11.9% to $1.6 billion.
"Every market delivered positive comps, and I'm pleased that our largest markets, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Canada, collectively delivered stable growth, solid margins and expense leverage, despite challenging environments," said Walmart International president and CEO Doug McMillon.
Walmart increased by a penny and narrowed its full year profit forecast to a range of $4.83 to $4.93 from a prior range of $4.72 to $4.92.
Source: retailingtoday.com
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 3:33PM Home Depot reported sales of $20.6 billion for the second quarter of 2012, a 1.7% increase from the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Comparable sales for U.S. stores were positive 2.6%, and overall same-store sales for the second quarter were positive 2.1%.
Net earnings for the world's largest home improvement retailer were $1.53 billion for the second quarter, which ended July 29. This compares with net earnings of $1.36 billion in the same period a year ago, reflecting a 12.4% increase.
"As expected, second quarter sales reflected the pull forward of seasonal activity into the first quarter," said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO. "But we saw continued demand for core products and delivered second quarter earnings above our expectations."
The Atlanta retailer expects fiscal 2012 sales will increase approximately 4.6% from the prior year on a 53 week basis.
At the end of the second quarter, Home Depot operated a total of 2,255 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and Canada.
Source: retailingtoday.com
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 3:13PM Retail sales advanced 0.8% in July, the first gain in four months, according to a report released by the Commerce Department. Sales were fueled by strength from the automobile sector, electronics and appliance outlets, and department stores.
The bigger than expected increase followed a 0.7% decline in June that was weaker than first reported. Bloomberg had forecast a 0.3% rise in July. The results have buoyed feelings overall that the economy may be improving, albeit at a moderate pace.
"We're looking for consumption to pick up," Credit Agreicole CIB chief economist Michael Carey told Bloomberg. "There was improved consumer confidence in July plus job gains that were a little better than expected, which is certainly constructive for the household outlook."
Retail sales, which climbed the most since February, followed a quarter in which household spending grew at the slowest pace in a year. Consumer purchases, about 70% of the economy, increased at a 1.5% annual rate from April to June.
All 13 major retail categories showed a gain last month, led by a 0.8% jump at auto dealers, a 0.9% rise at electronics and appliance outlets, and a 0.6% increase at department stores that was the most since September.
Spending increased 0.8% at clothing stores and 0.7% at general merchandise stores. Health and personal care sales jumped 1.1%, the most since May 2011.
Industry data also showed that same-store sales at the more than 20 retailers tracked by Retail Metrics Inc. gained 4.4% in July, almost four times analysts' estimates, after only a 0.3% rise in June.
Sales excluding automobiles and service stations advanced 0.9%, the most since January.
Source: retailingtoday.com
Monday, August 6, 2012 at 6:08PM Helped by hot weather and clearance sales, many retailers reported solid results in July, a month that can be slow leading up to the back to school shopping season. Some of the strongest showings in the month were in the department store category, as all those reporting showed July gains.
Macy's led the pack with a 4.1% same-store rise in sales. Total sales increased 5.1% to $1.7 billion over the four-week period. "Despite some challenges from a sluggish macroeconomic environment and a temporary disruption of sales from the remodeling project at our Herald Square flagship store in New York City, the spring season met our expectations," said Macy's president and CEO Terry Lundgren.
Kohl's reported a lesser 1.7% gain in same-store sales, with total sales up 3.4%. "We are pleased with the improvement in July's comparable store sales," said Kevin Mansell, president and CEO.
Other department store July results include: Nordstrom same-store sales edged up 0.9%; Saks increased 3.5%; Bon-Ton Stores rose a slight 0.1%; and Stage Stores gained 5.3%, beating the 2.2% rise expected by Wall Street.
Source: retailingtoday.com
Kohl's, Macy's, Retail Sales, Saks in Kohl's, Macy's, Retail Sales, Saks Monday, August 6, 2012 at 11:57AM The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in June, improved slightly in July. The Index now stands at 65.9 (1985=100), up from 62.7 in June. The Expectations Index improved to 79.1 from 73.4. The Present Situation Index, however, decreased slightly to 46.2 from 46.6 a month ago.
Says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board: "Despite this month's improvement in confidence, the overall Index remains at historically low levels. Consumers' attitude regarding current conditions was little changed in July, but their short-term expectations, which had declined last month, bounced back. However, while consumers expressed greater optimism about short-term business and employment prospects,they have grown more pessimistic about their earnings. Given the current economic environment - in particular the weak labor market - consumer confidence is not likely to gain any significant momentum in the coming months."
Consumers' appraisal of current conditions eased in July. Those claiming business conditions are "good" declined to 13.8 percent from 14.2 percent, while those saying business conditions are "bad" decreased to 34.2 percent from 35.9 percent. Consumers' assessment of the labor market was also mixed. Those stating jobs are "hard to get" declined to 40.8 percent, while those claiming jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 7.8 percent from 8.3 percent.
On the other hand, consumers were generally more optimistic about the short-term outlook in July. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months rose to 18.9 percent from 16.0 percent, while those anticipating business conditions will worsen decreased to 14.6 percent from 15.8 percent. Consumers' outlook for the labor market was also more upeat in July. Those expecting more jobs in the months ahead increased to 17.6 percent from 14.8 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs edged down to 20.3 percent from 20.8 percent. The proportion of consumers expecting an increase in their incomes, however, declined to 14.2 percent from 15.3 percent.
Source: The Conference Board
Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 3:35PM The National Retail Federation joined a coalition of manufacturers, shippers and transportation providers opposing new federal trucking regulations on drivers' hours of service.
"The retail industry is at the crossroads of the supply chain, interconnecting manufacturers and suppliers with vendors and customers," NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said. "It is the retail industry's responsibility to get products to market and into consumers' hands in a safe and timely manner. It is a responsiblity that we hold dear. Any new regulation that impedes that ability increases our transportation costs, increases consumer prices, and jeopardizes the fragile economic recovery."
The joint brief challenges the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's new hours of service regulations. The new rules require mandatory and specified truck driver work breaks, rest periods, and changes the existing 34 hour restart period to include consecutive nights off. NRF had previously filed comments with the FMCSA during the rulemaking process to express the retail industry's concerns.
"The Administration failed to take into account the serious economic ramifications faced by the broader supply chain community when drafting these rules," Shay said. "NRF believes that the new requirements will only drive up costs, make trucking less safe, increase congestion, and ultimately hurt job growth and the economy. Any change in supply chain policy should be based solely on science and fact."
Source: retailingtoday.com
Monday, July 30, 2012 at 10:40AM Weak housing data notwithstanding, plenty of people spent money fixing up their homes this spring judging by the results of select retailers with exposure to the home improvement market.
Lumber Liquidators, operator of 277 specialty flooring stores, said its second-quarter sales increased nearly 20% to $210 million and same-store sales increased 12.4%. The company also saw a dramatic improvement in the profitability of those sales as gross margins expanded to 37.3% from 34% the prior year. Total profits more than doubled to $12.2 million, or 43 cents a share, compared with $5.3 million, or 19 cents a share the prior year.
Buoyed by a strong start to the first half of the year, the company increased its full year sales and profit forecast by a wide margin on the same day that the U.S. Commerce Department reported weaker-than-expected sales of new homes. Sales of new, single-family homes in June fell 8.4% to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 unit annual rate. That figure was below a Commerce Department estimate that put the May annual rate at 382,000. Government statistics also estimated there were 144,000 new homes for sale at the end of June, or nearly a five months supply of inventory at the current rate of sale.
The bleak news on the housing front didn’t deter Lumber Liquidators from increasing its full year sales target to a range of $750 million to $775 million, up from the previous range of $720 million to $750 million. The company also increased its full year profit forecast to a range of $1.30 to $1.42 compared to a prior range of $1.10 to $1.25.
“We believe Lumber Liquidators is successfully navigating through what remains a challenging and uncertain retail environment, particularly for large-ticket, discretionary purchases,” said Robert Lynch, president and CEO. “Our value proposition continues to resonate well with consumers, and as we look toward both the back half of the current year and into the next, we are confident in our ability to continue to drive traffic, improve our operations, expand our operating margin and grow our footprint.”
The company opened 14 new stores during the first half of the year and plans a total of 20 to 25 units for the full year.
Lumber Liquidators is benefitting from the repair and remodel trend as people stay in their homes and look to spruce up flooring. The same phenomenon is impacting the nations leading paint retailer, which reported stellar results last week. The Sherwin-Williams Company said sales during the quarter ended June 30 increased 14.6% to nearly $1.5 billion at the company’s 4,000 unit Paint Stores Group. Operating profit increased more than 29% to $267 million and same store sales increased 13.9% as the company was successful in raising prices to offset increased raw material costs. “We are continuing to invest in our business. In the first six months, Paint Stores Group opened 20 net new locations. For the year, we expect our Paint Stores Group to open 60 to 65 new stores,” said Sherwin-Williams chairman and CEO Christopher Connor.
The strong results from Sherwin-Williams and Lumber Liquidators come as the National Association of the Remodeling Industry reports in its quarterly survey that remodelers expect to see stronger sales in the next three months. Part of their reason for optimism is due to pent up demand, but low interest rates are helping with financing as well. The remodelers surveyed by the trade group said they are seeing an increased number of inquiries, requests for bids and a higher conversion rate.
Source: retailingtoday.com
Friday, July 27, 2012 at 1:27PM Despite a stagnant economy and drought conditions across large parts of the country, Brentwood, Tenn.-based Tractor Supply Co. reported sales and earnings growth.
The company posted second-quarter sales of $1.29 billion, up 9.6% from $1.18 billion in the same quarter last year.
The nation’s largest chain of farm and ranch specialty stores posted earnings of $106.6 million, up 8.3% from $91.2 million in the year-ago period.
"We are pleased with our ability to generate double-digit EPS growth during the second quarter, while operating in a stagnant economy and navigating weather shifts and unfavorable drought conditions,” said Jim Wright, chairman and CEO.
The company opened 18 new stores compared to 16 new store openings in the prior year's second quarter. The company operates 1,135 stores in 45 states.
Same-store sales increased 3.2%, even as the early spring weather pulled sales out of the second quarter and into the first quarter, according to the company.
The impact of the drought across much of the middle of the country appears to have affected farmers much more than it has affected the farm and ranch retailer.
"Our team is actively managing the product assortment to meet customer needs in the affected markets as the drought continues to spread and intensify," said Wright.
Source: retailingtoday.com
Friday, July 27, 2012 at 1:02PM There is a lot to like when it comes to the growth trajectory at Family Dollar and its record of consistency. The company just reported its 17th consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings per share growth, and the foundation is in place for more of the same.
Total sales increased 9.6% to nearly $2.4 billion, and same-store sales increased 5% during the third quarter ended May 26. Profits during the period increased 12.1% to $124.5 million, and earnings per share increased 16.5% to $1.06 compared with 91 cents the prior year. The company ended the quarter with 7,216 stores and is on track to end its fiscal year in late August with the addition of 450 to 500 new stores.
The knock on Family Dollar during the most recent quarter related to a decline in gross margins, but that appears to be a case of the company incurring some short-term pain in the name of long-term gain. As Family Dollar has expanded its assortment of food and consumables, its rate of profitability has come down.
Gross margins declined to 35.8% during the third quarter compared with 36.2% the prior year. Of course the bright side of increased sales of lower margin frequently purchased products is they do wonders for customer traffic. During the third quarter, Family Dollar’s same-store sales increase was attributable to more people shopping its stores and buying more stuff per visit.
Another knock on Family Dollar is that it is not Dollar General. The company’s larger rival operates roughly 3,000 more stores than Family Dollar and recently surpassed 10,000 units with the opening of its first stores and a new distribution center in California. The two companies target the same customer base with similarly sized stores offering a comparable product assortment, except Dollar General produces superior financial returns.
For example, while Family Dollar’s gross margin rate declined in the third quarter, it offset the drop by reducing its expenses, but did so at a slower pace. Expenses as a percent of sales sank to 27.4% in the third quarter compared with 27.7% the prior year. As a result, the company’s operating margin rate declined to 8.4% compared with 8.6% the prior year.
By comparison, Dollar General’s lower expense structure allows it to produce a superior operating margin even though its gross margin rate is lower than Family Dollar’s. Dollar General’s expenses as a percent of sale were 21.7%, its gross margin was 31.8%, and its operating margin was slightly more than 10% during the company’s most recent fiscal year.
Family Dollar chairman and CEO Howard Levine knows that to close the gap the company must increase the productivity of its selling space.
“Delivering stronger shareholder returns begins with increasing sales per square foot, and this quarter, we began to implement a number of initiatives to broaden our consumable assortment and satisfy more of our customers’ shopping trips,” Levine said last month.
Among the initiatives to which he is referring are the addition of even more food and consumables to more stores, new brands such as Pepsi and expanded health and beauty offerings, the addition of tobacco products and Red Box movie rental kiosks.
“As planned, most of these initiatives began late in the quarter and had little impact on our third-quarter sales results. We are on schedule, and I am very pleased with the progress our teams have made in such a short period of time,” Levine said. “As we complete most of these initiatives in the fourth quarter, we will have a fully competitive assortment and will be well-positioned to accelerate sales productivity further.”
Source: retailingtoday.com
Thursday, July 26, 2012 at 3:40PM Ahead of its investor and analyst conference, Home Depot has provided an update on its strategic priorities and long-term financial targets.
Home Depot's strategic goals include creating a stronger connection with customers and simplifying its business, improving merchandise assortment and value, improving shareholder value,and developing a competitive platform across all commerce channels.
"The Home Depot has a strong foundation of customer service, product authority and value creation. We will continue to build on our strategic priorities as we look to 2015 and beyond," said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO.
Home Depot said it still expects sales to be up approximately 4.6% for the year and diluted earnings per share to be up approximately 17% to $2.90 for the year. In addition, the company updated its fiscal year 2012 share repurchase guidance and now expects share repurchases of approximately $4 billion. This is an increase of $500 million from the guidance provided in May 2012, but given the timing of the share repurchases, the increase will not have a material impact to diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2012.
In June of 2009, the company announced a long term operating target of a 10% operating profit and 15% return on invested capital. The company anticipates achieving this target by fiscal year end and has now set out a new long term, fiscal 2015, operating target of a 12% operting margin and 24% return on invested capital.
Source: retailingtoday.com
Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at 8:17PM U.S. retail sales declined during the month of June, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
U.S. retail and food services sales for the month, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $401.5 billion, a decrease of 0.5% from the previous month but 3.8% above the year-ago period. Retail trade sales were down 0.5% from last month but 3.5% above last year.
Looking across retail categories, adjusted sales at grocery stores during the month of April increased about 0.1% to roughly $47.06 billion. Health and personal care stores saw a slight decline to nearly $22.8 billion. Retail sales for drug stores and pharmacies were not recorded; however, sales experienced a slight drop from April to May (about $19.14 billion). General merchandise stores' sales decreased 0.2% seasonally-adjusted month-to-month and remained flat unadjusted year-over-year.
Commenting on the results, the National Retail Federation said there is "no doubt about it that consumers cooled off on discretionary spending this spring."
"While the retail industry remains confident in an incremental recovery, today’s statistics should concern every policy-maker in Washington, and compel them to revisit burdensome regulations and job-killing tax increases set to take effect early next year," NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said.
Added NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz, "Weak economic numbers over the past few weeks have increased anxiety about the future direction of the economy. Today's data is discouraging but not demoralizing. If you look at the first half of the year overall, retail sales actually increased 4.6% year-over-year, indicating that the economy is improving, but maybe not quick enough to impact consumer spending and job growth."
Source: retailingtoday.com