Sales by sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores increased of 0.6 percent from May, but were 2.0 percent below their level a year earlier when adjusted for seasonal variation and holidays, according to advance estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Sales reached $7.18 billion in June, compared with $7.14 billion in May and $7.33 billion in June 2013.
The advance estimates are based on a smaller sample of establishments and will be adjusted twice in the coming months. Historically the BEA has adjusted its estimates of the month-to-month change in sales by sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores by 70 basis points. The comparable median standard of erroer for current month to the same month a year earlier is 0.9 percent.
The National Retail Federation calculated June retail sales excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, increased 0.5 percent seasonally adjusted month-to-month and 3.9 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
Sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers and furniture and home furnishing stores, declined from May, while sales by clothing and clothing accessories, electronics and appliance, general merchandise and health and personal care stores grew. Some market analysts speculate the divergence would point to a shift in consumer spending away from big ticket items related to homes and automobiles and toward general merchandise, such as apparel, footwear and consumer electronics.
Sales by nonstore retailers, which include catalogue, telephone and Internet retailers, increased 0.9 percent from May and 11.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the advance estimates released Tuesday.
