Conditions have been steadily picking back up over the past year as the U.S economy continues to improve. This has been welcome news for retailers, as they saw their revenues slip during the recession. Now, as consumers become more confident and increase their spending levels, merchants are happy to adapt to this change and get back to normal operations.

According to AFP, consumers visited retailers' brick-and-mortar locations and websites in large numbers last month, which helped to boost spending nationwide. Data from the Commerce Department revealed that spending rose 0.3 percent in May from April. This could be due to the fact that personal income also grew month-over-month by 0.5 percent. Compared to the same time last year, spending gains were more significant, with an increase of 1.8 percent, the source noted.

Another contributing factor to more spending could be a recent sharp rise in consumer confidence. The Associated Press reported that the latest Consumer Confidence Index from The Conference Board  jumped from 74.3 in May to 81.4 in June, reaching its highest level in five years. Americans are more optimistic about the nation's economy as well as their own financial conditions, which is resulting in more spending on retail products. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013 at 4:23 am .