US Retail Market Grew Faster Than Expected In June

Recently, the U.S. Department of Commerce released retail data for June. Retail sales increased by 1% month on month to $680.6 billion, slightly higher than the market expectation of 0.9% and 8.4% higher than the same period last year. In terms of items, the retail sales of gasoline and diesel ranked first among all sectors, with an increase of 3.6% compared with that in May, online sales increased by 2.2%, furniture stores and grocery stores both increased by 1.4%, while sales of department stores fell sharply by 2.6% month on month; Compared with June last year, the sales of gasoline and diesel oil were also the top sales, with a year-on-year increase of 49.1%, followed by the grocery store and catering industry, with year-on-year increases of 15.1% and 13.4%, respectively. Electronic equipment recorded the largest year-on-year decline, with sales falling by 9.1%.

According to the latest research data of the U.S. retail market in June released by MasterCard spending pulse, a research institution, the growth of the U.S. retail market in June was higher than expected, with sales increasing by 9.5% compared with the same period last year. Although the growth rate of the online retail market slowed down, its sales volume was still twice that of the same period last year. The U.S. household expenditure in June decreased compared with that in May, but the overall consumption level was stable, consistent with the beginning of 2002.

In June, sales of convenience goods and fuel increased by 42.1%. In addition, sales of groceries increased by 14.1%. At the same time, the arrival of tourism boom also led to the sales of clothing and accessories.

In June, jewelry sales increased by 16.2% and clothing sales increased by 13.1%. In addition, U.S. electronics sales increased by 4.6%, furniture and household goods increased by 4.2%, and luxury goods increased by 4%.

(source: China Cotton Association)