Retail Posts First Drop in 5 Months as Auto Purchases Plunge
Spending in recent months has been supported by consumers dipping into savings and increasingly using credit cards.
June 15, 2022 at 12:51 PM
2 minute read
U.S. retail sales fell in May for the first time in five months, restrained by a plunge in vehicle purchases and other big-ticket items, suggesting moderating demand for goods amid decades-high inflation.
The value of overall retail purchases decreased 0.3%, after a downwardly revised 0.7% gain in April, Commerce Department figures showed Wednesday. Excluding vehicles, sales rose 0.5% last month. The figures aren't adjusted for inflation.
The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.1% advance in overall retail sales from a month earlier and a 0.7% increase in the figure excluding autos.
Auto sales dropped 3.5% in May, reinforcing data from Wards Automotive Group that showed sales dropped the most since August in the month. Meantime, spending at gas stations rose 4%, likely reflecting higher fuel prices in the month. Excluding those categories, retail sales rose 0.1%, the smallest gain in five months.
The figures suggest that Americans' demand for merchandise is softening, which could reflect the impact of the fastest inflation in 40 years or greater preference to spend to on services like travel and entertainment. As price pressures become more entrenched in the economy, spending will likely ebb either due to higher prices, higher interest rates, or both.
The figures come ahead of a decision later Wednesday by the Federal Reserve, in which the central bank is increasingly expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points, the most since 1994.
Spending in recent months has been supported by consumers dipping into savings and increasingly using credit cards. That dynamic could put overall retail sales growth at risk as Americans' financial foundations weaken.
Six of the 13 retail categories showed declines last month, according to the report, including electronics, furniture and e-commerce.
Grocery store sales advanced 1.2%, which could reflect higher prices rather than increased buying activity since the figures aren't adjusted for inflation. Real spending data for May will be released later this month.
Restaurant sales, the report's only services component, rose 0.7%.
So-called control group sales, which are used to calculate gross domestic product and exclude food services, auto dealers, building materials stores and gasoline stations, were unchanged in May.
Olivia Rockeman reports for Bloomberg News.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllTrump Mulls Big Changes to Banking Regulation, Unsettling the Industry
CFPB Orders Big Banks to Limit Overdraft Fees to $5. But Will Its Edict Stick?
3 minute readUS Judge Throws Out Sale of Infowars to The Onion. But That's Not the End of the Road for Sandy Hook Families
4 minute readGreenberg Traurig Initiates String of Suits Following JPMorgan Chase's 'Infinite Money Glitch'
Trending Stories
- 1A.I. Depositions: Court Reporters Are Watching Texas Case
- 2Second DCA Greenlights USF Class Certification on COVID-19 College Tuition Refunds
- 335 Years After CT's Affordable Housing Act, Progress Remains a Struggle
- 4Bankruptcy Judge Clears Path for Recovery in High-Profile Crypto Failure
- 5Reality TV Couple and Pacific Palisades Neighbors Sue City of Los Angeles Over Loss of Homes to Fire
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250