The May retail sales report peeled back the curtain on the health of the U.S. consumer amid one of the worst global pandemics in modern history. Consumer spending rebounded in May following April’s record plunge. Online sales maintained their strength and spending in the beaten down core components rebounded sharply during the month.
Within core components, consumer spending online rose 9 percent and 1.3 percent at grocery stores in May. Sales at department stores jumped 37 percent, furniture stores saw a nearly 90 percent increase in spending, sporting goods sales rose 88 percent, sales at electronics stores surged 50.5 percent and spending at clothing retailers skyrocketed 188 percent.
Click here to see the full report from Heidi Chung of Yahoo Finance.
Meanwhile non-core components also saw a big bounce in activity in May. Auto and auto parts sales rose 44 percent and gas sales jumped 13 percent. Sales from food services was up 29 percent and spending on building materials increased nearly 11 percent.