Monthly sales show industry growth

Retail sales accelerated their rate of growth in September, according to the latest monthly tally from the Census Bureau.

Building materials continued to show strength – up 23.4% on an unadjusted year-over-year basis, and up 0.6% compared to the prior month, on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The bureau estimated September sales for building material & garden equipment and supplies dealers (NAICS 444) at $38,204,000,000.

“Retail sales showed impressive gains in September,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Consumers continue to prove their resilience and strength through this pandemic. Retailers and consumers are adapting to the current environment, embracing shopping in different ways and focusing on specific categories.”

Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for September 2020, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $549.3 billion, an increase of 1.9 percent. Sales were up 5.4% compared to September a year ago.

Online and other non-store sales were up 0.5% month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 27% unadjusted year-over-year.