Several recent reports have shown that retail sales were particularly strong throughout May, as consumers flooded brick-and-mortar locations and merchants' websites. Despite a shaky start to the year, businesses are steadily regaining their confidence that was lost during the recession, and analysts expect that sales will keep climbing in the coming months.

USA Today reported that the latest data from the Census Bureau revealed that retail sales jumped 0.6 percent last month from April. This beat economists' expectations of a 0.5 percent rise. However, while most retail sectors saw growth during May, consumer spending at restaurants dipped slightly, and analysts say this could be a sign that Americans are still reeling from the payroll tax increases that took effect at the beginning of the year. But optimism remains high, both among analysts and retailers throughout the country.

"You can't draw conclusions based on one month," Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group, told the source about May's retail sales. "Year-over-year, it's still up about 4 percent.''

Merchants can ensure they are keeping track of their sales and accommodating their customers with the right retail management software and POS solutions.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 at 8:10 am .