There were $672.9 billion in retail and food service sales in May, a decrease of 0.3% from the previous month, but 8.1% above the previous year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Core retail sales—excluding automobiles and gasoline—increased 0.1% from the previous month and 7.9% from the previous year.
Retail trade sales were down 0.4% from April 2022, but up 6.9% above last year. Gasoline stations were up 43.2% from May 2021, while food services and drinking places were up 17.5% from last year.
Read the Census release.