Updated: 16-May-23 09:43 ET
| April Retail Sales |
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| Updated: 16-May-23 09:43 ET |
Highlights
- Total retail sales increased 0.4% month-over-month in April (Briefing.com consensus +0.7%) following an upwardly revised 0.7% decline (from -1.0%) in March.
- Excluding autos, retail sales were also up 0.4% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus +0.3%) following an upwardly revised 0.5% decline (from -0.8%) in March.
Key Factors
- Motor vehicle and parts dealers sales increased 0.4% after declining 1.4% in March.
- Electronics and appliance store sales declined 0.5% after declining 0.3% in March.
- Building materials sales rose 0.5% after declining 3.8% in March.
- Gasoline station sales fell 0.8% after falling 0.7% in March.
- General merchandise sales increased 0.9% after declining 0.9% in March.
- Nonstore retailer sales jumped 12.2% after increasing 0.4% in March.
- Food services and drinking places sales jumped 0.6% after increasing 0.3% in March.
Big Picture
- Retail sales are not adjusted for inflation, so the key takeaway from the report is that total retail sales were up in April due primarily to price increases and not as much to increased demand.
| Category | APR | MAR | FEB | JAN | DEC |
| Retail Sales | 0.4% | -0.7% | -0.7% | 2.8% | -0.7% |
| Excluding Autos | 0.4% | -0.5% | -0.5% | 1.9% | -0.5% |
| Durable goods | |||||
| Building Materials | 0.5% | -3.8% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.8% |
| Autos/parts | 0.4% | -1.4% | -1.1% | 6.8% | -1.7% |
| Furniture | -0.7% | -2.0% | -6.5% | 10.2% | -1.8% |
| Nondurable goods | |||||
| General Merchandise | 0.9% | -0.9% | -0.1% | 1.9% | 0.1% |
| Food | -0.2% | -0.3% | 0.4% | -0.5% | -0.5% |
| Gasoline stations | -0.8% | -0.7% | -1.8% | -0.4% | -5.6% |
| Clothing | -0.3% | -1.4% | -2.5% | 3.5% | -0.5% |
| e*retailing/non-store | 1.2% | 0.4% | 0.9% | -0.1% | 2.2% |
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