Retail Sales Dropped 1.3% in May as Pandemic Shopping Habits Shifted - The Wall Street Journal
Retail sales dropped in May, marking a shift in consumer spending from big-ticket items to goods and services related to going out amid business reopenings and higher vaccination rates.
Consumers cut spending by 1.3% last month, trimming expenditures on autos, furniture, electronics, building materials and other items, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.Spending on one service—restaurants and bars—rose 1.8% last month, sending food-service sales beyond pre-pandemic levels.
Credit- and debit-card spending on many leisure services rose in May from April, according to data tracked by Earnest Research.In the four weeks ending June 2, spending at casinos rose nearly 17% from the four weeks prior, while consumers spent 9% more at theme parks and indoor-entertainment centers including bowling alleys, according to Earnest Research.