US apparel retail sales in Jul declined month-on-month

According to data released by the US Commerce Department, US retail sales fell 1.1% in July from the previous month, the second MoM decline in the past three months and far exceeding market expectations. Retail sales in July still rose 16% year-on-year and exceeded the level before Covid-19 outbreak, but the growth rate has slowed down significantly.

In July, retail sales in US clothing stores reached 25.8 billion USD, down 2.6% month-on-month but up 43.4% year-on-year. The retail sales still rose by 15.3% compared with the pre-Covid level, maintaining strong market sales. Retail sales in furniture stores were 11.9 billion USD, down 0.6% from a month earlier but up 15.6% from the same period last year. It still increased by 18.7% compared with the same period in 2019. Retail sales in general stores (including supermarkets and department stores) were 68.5 billion USD, down 0.1% from the previous month but up 10.9% year-on-year. The growth rate rose slightly for three consecutive months and remained above the pre-Covid level. Retail sales in department stores totaled 12.1 billion USD, down 0.3% from the previous month but up 24.3% over the same period last year, which was basically the same as the pre-Covid level. Online retail sales totaled 85.4 billion USD, down 3.1% from the previous month, but up 5.9% over the same period last year and the growth momentum gradually slowed down.

The University of Michigan's consumer confidence index, released on Aug. 13, fell sharply to 70.2% from 81.2%, indicating that the consumer trend was shifting from retail to service consumption. Especially after the end of the last round of epidemic in the United States, the once hot home decoration and household consumption were also cooling. As high inflation continued, American consumers were more price-sensitive and may spend less on retail goods in the future.