NAICS 444 sales are down year-over-year
Sales among retailers classified as “building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers” dipped in May, according to the Advance Monthly Retail Sales report released Tuesday morning by the U.S. Census Bureau.
These retailers (NAICS 444) generated $48.490 billion in estimated sales on an unadjusted basis in May. That’s down 4.0 percent from $50.535 billion in May 2023.
On an adjusted basis, the NAICS 444 class of retailers in May dipped less than 1 percent from the previous month’s sales.
Across the retail industry, advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for May 2024, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $703.1 billion, up 0.1 percent from the previous month, and up 2.3 percent above May 2023.
Of the year-over-year sales of the 13 major retail classifications in May, NAICS 444 performed near the bottom of the list. Leading the way were "Miscellaneous stores" and "Nonstore retailers," up 7.3 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively.
On a monthly basis, the retail sector with the best performance in May was "Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, & book stores," up 2.8 percent.
The data released by the U.S. Census Bureau shows the consumer is "reasonably healthy," according to the National Retail Federation.
“May’s retail sales give us a snapshot of a reasonably healthy consumer even though spending growth is fluctuating somewhat,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “These numbers indicate that the economy continues to expand at a solid pace. Job gains have remained strong, generally supporting consumers’ ability and willingness to spend. Inflation pressure has fallen, especially for retail goods, but higher prices for services continue to weigh on the minds of households.”
