“The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.” ― George Washington
April of 2020 was rough for everyone. Overall retail sales sank 14% during the month, and the outlook seemed bleak.
However, something amazing happened this past May…
With America starting to loosen COVID restrictions, economists knew that Retail Sales could only sink so low. The official expectation was an 8% increase, which would have been a solid increase putting us on track for a gradual recovery. America’s real consumption and overall GDP was expected to contract at a 40% annualized pace in this second fiscal quarter.
Then, on June 16th , 2020, the May retail sales report came out. The United States of America had
bounced back from the brink of total catastrophe. Not only did America beat expectations, we beat it by more than double. Retail sales in the United States grew nearly 18% in May. Retail
sales are current level of 446.92 billion is only 3.2% below the highest retail sales point in history (January 2020). This is the largest single month increase on record. America’s real consumption and overall GDP will only fall at a 30% annualized pace this fiscal quarter, as opposed to the 40% expected.
Some would assume that online retail would see the biggest jump, however, sales at clothing
stores rose nearly 190%, sales at furniture stores and sporting goods rose nearly 90%, and sales
at department stores jumped up 37%!
Economists believe that retail sales are a good indicator of the health of the economy. Since this is the case, this is not only extremely good news for the Retail industry, but it is a great sign for the U.S. Economy as a whole. The United States still has a long way to go, but this is a great first step towards recovery.