Retail sales continued to stall in the month of June as consumers held off on discretionary and non-discretionary spending—marking three consecutive months of retail sales decreases—implying that persistently-high domestic unemployment, stagnant job growth, and international economic unease have taken a toll on American consumers this spring.
According to the National Retail Federation, June retail sales (excluding automobile, gas stations, and restaurants) decreased 0.4 percent seasonally adjusted from May but increased 1.7 percent unadjusted year-over-year. This year-over-year increase marks 24 consecutive months of sustained retail sales growth.
June retail sales, released by the U.S. Department of Commerce, showed total retail and food services sales (which include non-general merchandise categories such as automobiles, gasoline stations, and restaurants) decreased 0.5 percent seasonally adjusted month-to-month but increased 3.8 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
This post was originally written by Gigi Rubin and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.
