Headlines

May Retail Sales Rise Could Signal Strong Start to Summer

Shoppers spending “like they have a hole in their pocket.”

Published

11 months ago

June 16, 2023

Screen Printing Staff

PHOTO: Marcos Elihu Castillo Ramirez/iStock.com

Sales for retail and food services sales were up 0.3% for May compared to April and ahead of last year by 1.6%, the U.S. Census reports. Add to that to indications of strong early summer travel, an additional holiday – Juneteenth has become a public holiday in more than half the U.S. states – no interest rate hike by the Fed this month and lower gas prices than last year, and it translates into major optimism for consumer spending in June, Forbes reports.

In terms of where consumers spend their money, that has shifted to value chains, discount stores, travel, entertainment and groceries. Restaurants and bars were up percent and discount stores, warehouse clubs, and grocery stores were up 3 percent compared to May 2022. Groceries are a primary driver of customer visits to discount stores and warehouse clubs.

“Consumers are spending like they have a hole burning in their pocket,” Jonathan Silver, CEO of Affinity Solutions, which tracks spending on over 140 million credit and debit cards across 8.8 billion transactions, told Forbes. “May was the first month this year where spending was up in all categories except gas (and gas was way up after adjusting for price decreases). Our data shows consumer spending in the U.S. increased 8.9 percent year over year in May. That’s compared to 7.8 percent in April this year and just 1.8 percent in March. The increase in May is the largest monthly year-over-year spending increase since September 2022.”

Click here for the full Forbes article.

Let’s Talk About It

Creating a More Diverse and Inclusive Screen Printing Industry

LET’S TALK About It: Part 3 discusses how four screen printers have employed people with disabilities, why you should consider doing the same, the resources that are available, and more. Watch the live webinar, held August 16, moderated by Adrienne Palmer, editor-in-chief, Screen Printing magazine, with panelists Ali Banholzer, Amber Massey, Ryan Moor, and Jed Seifert. The multi-part series is hosted exclusively by ROQ.US and U.N.I.T.E Together. Let’s Talk About It: Part 1 focused on Black, female screen printers and can be watched here; Part 2 focused on the LGBTQ+ community and can be watched here.