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WASHINGTON — Retail sales rose 1.2% in May, with gains made across 11 of 13 major retail categories, the Commerce Department said.
Retail sales rose 1.2% in May, with gains made across 11 of 13 major retail categories, the Commerce Department said.
Among the biggest gainers: apparel retailers, auto dealers and home improvement stores, the department said earlier this month.
The agency also revised retail sales for April higher, showing a nearly 1% increase rather than the previously reported 0.2% gain.
May data also show sales gains for retailers of furniture, sporting goods and general merchandise. Only health and personal care stores posted declines for the month, but those followed increases in April.
Increased consumer spending is consistent with recent improvements in other economic indicators, including employment gains and increased household wealth.
The Thomson Reuters same-store sales index for May registered an 0.8% gain, with the increase held in check by difficult comparisons from last year and shipping snafus related to the contract dispute — since resolved — affecting work at West Coast seaports.
Costco Wholesale Corp. said net sales in the four weeks ended May 31 rose 2% to nearly $9 billion. The Issaquah, Wash.-based company said comparable-store sales at U.S. stores rose 2%, but those were canceled out by the 4% decline in comps at its international stores.
Rite Aid Corp. posted a 2.1% gain in same-store sales in the five weeks ended May 30. The drug store operator said front-end same-store sales were up 0.1% in the period. Pharmacy same-store sales increased 3%, a gain curbed by what the Camp Hill, Pa.-based company said was a negative impact of 179 basis points from the introduction of new generic drugs. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 0.7% from the previous year.
Discount store operator Fred’s Inc. said sales for the four weeks to May 30 climbed 10% to $167 million, reflecting the first full month since its acquisition of specialty pharmacy EntrustRx. Fred’s said comparable-store sales rose 0.3% in the period.
