Garden centers make big contribution to May retail sales increase

Total retail sales in May jumped 0.8 percent, which is double what forecasters estimated, and home and garden stores are a big contributor, according to Market Watch and the U.S. Census Bureau.

A stark contrast to April’s 0.8 percent decrease, building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers saw a 2.4 percent increase, according to the Census Bureau’s release June 14. This increase was second only to miscellaneous store retailers, which were at 2.7 percent, and ahead of gasoline stations, which were at 2 percent due to increased prices at the pump.

While this spring spike is expected for home and garden centers, it is a great comeback after a seemingly endless winter for garden centers.

According to Market Watch, American households are spending more because of tax cuts, a steadily growing economy and a strong labor market.

“U.S. households are back to their free spending ways, with the strength of May’s retail sales figures implying that second-quarter real consumption growth (and GDP growth for that matter) will now be more than 4 percent annualized,” said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economic to Market Watch. “With the benefit of the tax cuts, strong employment growth and a slow acceleration in hourly wage growth, consumption growth should remain strong going into the second half of this year.”