April retail sales increased 0.4 percent seasonally adjusted over March and 2.8 percent year-over-year as consumers continued to spend, according to the National Retail Federation. The numbers exclude automobiles, gasoline stations, and restaurants.
The three-month moving average was up 4.1 percent over the same period a year ago, which is in line with NRF’s forecast that 2018 retail sales will grow between 3.8 percent and 4.4 percent over 2017.
The April results build on improvement seen in March, which was up 0.3 percent monthly and 5.2 percent year over year.
NRF’s numbers are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which said overall April sales–including automobiles, gasoline and restaurants–were up 0.3 percent seasonally adjusted from March and up 4.7 percent year-over-year.
