Census Bureau reports retail sales for June

WASHINGTON The Census Bureau announced that advance estimates of retail and food services sales for June dropped 0.5% to $360.2 billion, compared with the previous month. However, sales rose 4.8% when compared with the year-ago period.

The Census Bureau also disclosed that total sales for the April through June 2010 period were up 6.8% from the same period a year ago, perhaps showing that an economic turnaround indeed is underway.

In related news, advance estimates were not available for drug store sales, although the Census Bureau noted that the market share for this business sector has remained relatively the same from month to month. Health and personal care stores saw a near 0.5% gain, increasing from $21.6 to $21.7 million. Grocery stores, however, dropped from $43.6 million to nearly $43.4 million.

“Today’s data shows consumers continue to take a cautious approach towards shopping,” said NRF president and CEO Matt Shay. “However, growth in key areas such as electronics, apparel and department stores is an encouraging sign as we enter the back-to-school shopping season.”