Consumers may be scrutinizing purchases more closely, but May’s retail sales report showed spending activity remains firmly in motion.
Advance estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau released Wednesday (June 17) revealed retail and food services sales totaling $763.7 billion in May, up 0.9% from April and 6.9% from a year earlier.
The gains arrive as many households continue to grapple with higher living costs. The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Inside the Cutback Economy: How Age, Behavior and Financial Pressure Shape Consumer Spending,” released last month, found that 53% of consumers in the United States cited daily living expenses as a challenge.
Several retail categories posted gains in May, per the Census Bureau data. Motor vehicle and parts dealers saw sales rise 1.2% from April, while clothing and accessories stores gained 0.3%. Health and personal care stores increased 0.6%, and furniture and home furnishings stores rose 1% during the month.
Other categories were softer. Electronics and appliance stores recorded a 0.5% monthly decline, while department store sales slipped 0.3%. Building material and garden equipment stores were essentially unchanged. Food services and drinking places edged down 0.1% from April.
Even so, the broader picture remained constructive. Most major retail segments either advanced or held steady.
Consumers Are Choosing What to Keep
The overlap between the Census Bureau data and PYMNTS Intelligence findings helps explain why some categories continue to perform even when households report financial strain.
PYMNTS Intelligence found that consumers facing cost pressures were often reprioritizing spending rather than abandoning it. Among consumers under pressure, 66% reported cutting back on everyday expenses and 51% said they were avoiding large purchases. At the same time, many continued to spend on dining, entertainment, pet care and other areas they considered important.
The May retail sales figures reflected a consumer who remains engaged in the marketplace, while being selective about the channels they use to find what they want.
Nonstore retailers, the Census Bureau category that includes eCommerce merchants, recorded a 1.5% monthly gain and a 12.2% increase from a year earlier. Among major retail segments, only gasoline stations posted a larger annual increase.
That performance extends a trend that has become increasingly important to the digital economy.
Consumers may be more deliberate about purchases, but online channels continue to capture a larger share of spending activity. Digital commerce offers consumers price transparency, promotions, convenience and broader product selection, all factors that become more important when households are evaluating where every dollar goes.
The category’s double-digit annual growth rate also suggests that consumer spending is still finding its way into the economy, even if the composition of that spending is evolving.
Sporting goods, hobby, musical instruments and book stores sales rose 11.3% since May 2025, after recording a 0.3% gain last month. This was the category that grew the most year over year after nonstore retailers’ sales.
The read-across is perhaps that consumers and households stocked up on leisure items in advance of relaxation time over summer breaks, alongside Memorial Day sales. The result is a consumer-fueled economy that continues to move forward, although with a sharper focus on where money is spent and what value shoppers expect in return.
