Retailers are increasingly focusing on smaller stores that are big on experiences for customers who are returning to brick-and-mortar locations in big numbers as fears about the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to subside.
In-store sales were up 10% in April compared to the same time in 2021, while eCommerce sales dropped 1.8% during the same period, according to the latest edition of Mastercard’s SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment, released Thursday (May 5).
California, New York, Florida, Nevada and Illinois were among the states leading the charge back to brick and mortar.
Overall, total retail sales excluding auto was up 7.2% year-over-year in April and 15.3% from 2019, a similar jump to previous months so far in 2022.
While online sales dropped year-over-year in April, they are still up 92% from April 2019, according to the Mastercard press release.
Apparel sales were up 10.8% year-over-year in April and 8.4% from 2019 levels, while department stores saw a 15.7% year-over-year increase and 22.3% growth from 2019, although both are dipping from their peaks earlier this year, according to the press release.
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Furniture and furnishings were up for the seventh consecutive month, jumping 3.8% year over year and 25.7% from April 2019, the press release says.
“Whether for a family barbecue, returning to the office or senior prom, it seems like everyone is out shopping for something,” said Steve Sadove, senior adviser for Mastercard and former CEO and chairman of Saks Inc., in the company press release.
Related: Macy’s Accelerating Small-Store Rollout
Earlier this week, Macy’s announced it is fast-tracking the opening of its smaller department store footprint, expecting that retail outposts with fewer products and more digital services in areas where customers run daily errands will attract more shoppers.
The COVID-19 pandemic sped up retailers’ willingness to shift to smaller stores, realizing that shoppers’ interests when they came to brick-and-mortar locations were changing and that they wanted more experiential opportunities and digital capabilities than they had in the past, The Wall Street Journal report said.
