Michael McNamara, Vice President, Research and Analysis for SpendingPulse, observes: “While there were spending shifts from May to June between industry sectors and segments, several sectors continue to show very modest growth, compared to the building sales momentum in the first quarter of 2010. When analyzing the data, some of the variables to consider include calendar shifts related to Memorial Day that pushed some spending from May into the retail month of June. In addition, financial market performance coupled with weaker consumer confidence figures correlated with weakness in sales in higher priced, discretionary items, as well as durable goods.”
In June, eCommerce sales continued to post solid year-over-year growth rates, although for the first time this year, the overall growth rate for the category was not in double digits. As a whole, eCommerce increased 9.7%, while subcategories such as apparel posted double digit growth for the seventh consecutive month, and enjoyed the second largest overall gain in 2010. While all the subsectors of eCommerce posted strong gains for June, the most resilient categories were jewelry eCommerce and Department Store eCommerce as these continued to gain an increasing share of overall sales for their sectors. Women’s apparel online sales, one of the weaker performers, still grew by a positive 3.8%.
Following six straight months of positive year-over-year growth rates, Luxury sales, which include high-end sales in restaurant, food stores, department stores, and high end retailers from the general apparel category, posted a decline of 3.9% in June. As noted in last month’s release, after May 2010, the year-over-year comparisons are no longer as easy going forward. In addition, this category tends to correlate to stock market performance, helping account for the category’s weaker performance in June.
Building on the solid growth numbers recorded from January through May of 2010, June’s Jewelry data posted a very respectable 10.1% growth, keeping the category in positive territory for the 8th straight month.
After registering a decline in May, the Electronics and Appliances category posted a positive year-over-year growth rate of 1.7% for June. However, for the second consecutive month, Appliance sales remained relatively flat, growing a modest 1% in June, a noticeable slowdown in growth from the solid increases recorded in March and April of 2010.
Total apparel sales increased by 3.3% in June following declines in April and May. While all but one of the sub-sectors of Apparel sector posted gains, two categories in particular, Family and Children, were major drivers of June’s growth rates. May’s cooler weather could have helped push sales into June, during which families appeared to have restocked their summer wardrobes. Footwear, growing at +0.3% and Men’s Apparel, also growing at +0.3%, reversed May’s declines. Women’s Apparel, was down less steeply in June than in May, posting a decline of 1.6%.
