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As the weather heated up in March, so too did consumer confidence. Reaching comparable levels last seen over the December holiday season, consumer confidence settled in at 53 points for the month of March.
It came as no surprise that retail sales also picked up considerably, with all categories experiencing positive sales growth when compared to softer results from 2009. All Stores sales grew by 10% this month and 5.8% year-to-date.
While many categories are still not seeing the same gross sales figures from March 2008, General Merchandise Stores exceeded its 2008 results and a few other categories are on par. These categories and their March 2008 sales results in billions are: Clothing and Accessories Stores ($17.8), Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book and Music Stores ($7.0), General Merchandise Stores ($49.7), Food and Beverage Stores ($49.2) and Electronics and Appliance Stores ($8.3).
Overall, Clothing and Accessories Stores have been trending upwards, gaining some momentum with March’s unusually warmer weather in some parts of the country. Sales were up 9.9% this month, compared to the same time last year. Retailers providing monthly results, such as the Gap Inc. and Saks, also reported double-digit sales growth for their comparable same-store sales.
Retail sales of Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book and Music Stores went up considerably by 9.0%, boosted by the good weather.
General Merchandise Stores grew by 6.2% in March, while Department Stores (excluding leased departments) grew 5.2%.
Food and Beverage Stores and Grocery Stores continued to remain strong, growing its March retail sales, on average, by 5.6% over the same time last year. This category got some lift through Easter’s early arrival in April this year.
Electronics and Appliance Stores picked up retail sales by 4.9% this month. The effects of government rebates for energy efficient home appliances, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will also play a role in further stimulating this category this year, along with the iPad and other electronic gadgets.
In other categories, Nonstore Retailers were the biggest winners for the month, with a growth in sales of 14.8%.
Even afflicted Building Material and Garden Equipment Stores got some respite this month with sales growing by 3.3%. The growth can be attributed to the weather and pent-up demand; however, the sector still has some catching up to do to reach its March 2008 sales levels of $27.1 billion, from its current $24.3 billion in sales.
As consumer confidence picks up and jobs are added to the U.S. economy, retailers will be looking to snap up new consumer dollars, and those who made an investment during the downturn will hold high expectations for 2010. Join us next month to see which categories will get a return on their investment.
Release Date of the Next National Retail Bulletin: May 14, 2010
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For more information, please contact Jim Okamura at (312) 673-1254, John Archer (416)921-4181 or e-mail or info@jcwg.com; Website: www.jcwg.com
Please note:
The J.C. Williams Group National Retail Bulletin compares the latest monthly release of “raw” (i.e., unadjusted for seasonality, holiday, and trading day) retail sales figures to those in the same calendar month of the previous year. The U.S. Census Bureau also reports seasonally adjusted sales that are compared to the previous month within the current calendar year to measure change in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Although other sources use seasonally adjusted figures, J.C. Williams Group believes that using raw figures and making comparisons to the previous year’s performance more accurately reflects the seasonality of the retail industry, and therefore, are more useful in analysis. Definitions can be found on the U.S. Census Website: www.census.gov.
