Mastercard SpendingPulse: US Retail Sales Up 9.5% YoY in June

As prices continue to spike for essential items and shoppers continue to treat themselves with more leisure-based spending than they did during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. consumer retail spending was up 9.5% year over year in June, according to the latest Mastercard SpendingPulse.

SpendingPulse measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment, excluding automotive purchases, the company press release Thursday (July 7) said. The latest report showed that retail sales excluding auto and gas were up 6.1% year over year, with rising prices for food, fuel and other necessities playing a role in the increase.

Excluding auto and gas, in-store spending was up 11.7% year over year in June, with eCommerce growing 1.1%. Overall, eCommerce sales are about double the level they were in June 2019.

Nominal spending growth is down slightly compared to May, the press release said, noting it’s still in line with growth levels from earlier this year.

Fuel and convenience were up 42.1% year over year and 55.7% compared to June 2019, with inflation driving the bulk of that increase. The same is true in the grocery category, which was up 14% from June 2021 and 24.8% from three years ago.

Jewelry jumped 16.2% from last year and 86.6% from the same time in 2019, while luxury spending was up 4% from 2021 and 54% from 2019. Department store spending increased 8.6% year over year and 21.4% from three years ago.

Airline spending increased 18.2% from 2021 and 7.3% from 2019, while lodging spending was up 33.7% from last year and 30.4% from three years ago.

“Sector by sector, we’re seeing a varied picture of how inflation is impacting essential vs discretionary consumer spending,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and chairman of Saks Incorporated, in the press release. “One notable highlight is that travel sectors such as airlines and lodging continue to show signs of strong demand.”

Related: Mastercard SpendingPulse: Back-to-School Retail Sales May Grow 7.5% in 2022

In May, Mastercard SpendingPulse showed a 10.5% year-over-year retail sales growth for the month, also forecasting a 7.5% growth in U.S. retail sales from mid-July through Labor Day during the back-to-school shopping period.

Sales are predicted to jump 18.3% from 2019, led by a notable uptick in department store sales, the report said.