Despite market volatility, unseasonable weather and uncertain economic policies, retail sales during the month of March 2018 in the US increased by 0.3 per cent on the seasonally adjusted basis over February and 5 per cent year-over-year as. This was revealed by National Retail Federation (NRF), the world’s biggest retail trade body.
“In view of the hostile economic situation, the figures can be seen as a healthy spending report,” stated NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz in a statement issued by the body.
During the month under review, online and other non-store sales reported a 7.6 per cent increase year-over-year and 0.8 per cent when compared to February 2018 on seasonally adjusted basis.
Segment-wise, furniture and home furnishings sales in March 2018 increased by 4.1 per cent year-over-year and up by 0.8 per cent over February (seasonally adjusted). Whereas, clothing and clothing accessory store sales improved by 6.1 per cent Y-o-Y and down 0.8 per cent over February.
General merchandise stores sales during the reporting period went up by 6.3 per cent year-over-year and up by 0.3 per cent from February. However, sporting goods stores’ sales declined by 0.9 per cent year-over-year and down 1.8 per cent from February.
“Consumers continue to show resiliency in spending, and these numbers reflect how the economy is performing with a strong job market, gains in wages, improvements in confidence, rising home value and judicious use of credit,” Jack Kleinhenz.
The organisation hopes the sales to improve further in the coming months. NRF has already predicted that 2018 retail sales would grow between 3.8 per cent and 4.4 per cent over 2017.
