US retail sales grew throughout March, propelled by a
combination of factors including an early Easter holiday, increased tax
refunds, and a growing job market which the National Retail Federation (NRF)’s
chief economist believes put more money in shoppers pockets.
Jack
Kleinhenz, chief economist of the National Retail Federation (NRF) confirmed
that consumer spending from the latest data by the US Census Bureau remained
steady despite “inflationary pressure.”
The Census Bureau’s report revealed that
overall retail sales in March surged by 0.7% when adjusted seasonally from
February and recorded a 4% increase year-over-year, when unadjusted. These
figures mark a notable uptick from February’s increases of 0.9%
month-over-month and 2.1% year-over-year.
Kleinhenz explained: “While sales were
mixed, several factors supported retail sales including an early Easter
holiday, slightly larger 2023 tax refunds and stronger payroll growth over the
last three months.
“Nonetheless, the increasing share of
consumer spending going to services as prices for services rise remains a
stubborn problem because it leaves less household income available to spend on
retail goods.”
Delving deeper, March’s core retail sales, a
metric defined by NRF excluding automobile dealers, gasoline stations, and
restaurants, experienced a substantial uptick. Seasonally adjusted, core retail
sales saw a 1.1% increase from February and a robust 3.2% surge year-over-year,
unadjusted.
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Furthermore, on a three-month moving average
as of March, core retail sales exhibited a 3.9% increase year-over-year.
The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by
Affinity Solutions, echoed these findings, reporting a “steady pace” of growth
in the month’s sales.
The
Retail Monitor indicated that core February retail sales were up 0.23% when
seasonally adjusted from February, and a solid 2.92% increase year-over-year, unadjusted.
