Retail Spending Remains Healthy, Continues to Move Online

From  May U.S. Census Bureau retail data, one key takeaway is that consumer shopping has moved online. One retail category that exhibited positive results in May was sporting goods. While so-called athleisure apparel continues to be popular with consumers, it was likely also fueled by shoppers snatching up bargains at bankruptcy-related liquidation sales at Sports Authority and Sports Chalet. These big-box store closures are another sad example of the shift to smaller, non-store models from traditional retail. On a positive note, apparel sales increased slightly in May, up 0.8% versus last month’s increase of only 0.4%. This may bode well for the upcoming back-to-school shopping season. Read more at TheStreet.com