by Calculated Risk on 6/15/2022 08:37:00 AM

On a monthly basis, retail sales were decreased 0.3% from April to May (seasonally adjusted), and sales were up 8.1 percent from May 2021.

From the Census Bureau report:

Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for May 2022, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $672.9 billion, a decrease of 0.3 percent from the previous month, but 8.1 percent above May 2021. ... The March 2022 to April 2022 percent change was revised from up 0.9 percent to up 0.7 percent.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows retail sales since 1992. This is monthly retail sales and food service, seasonally adjusted (total and ex-gasoline).

Retail sales ex-gasoline were down 0.7% in May.

The second graph shows the year-over-year change in retail sales and food service (ex-gasoline) since 1993.

Retail and Food service sales, ex-gasoline, increased by 5.7% on a YoY basis.

Sales in May were below expectations, and sales in March and April were revised down, combined.