The Return-To-Work Clothing Boom Is Underway

The dual activity of buying leisurely summer clothes and traditional office attire for the return to the office — both occurring in earnest for the first time in more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic — is finally starting to show up in some data other than out-of-stock messages on retailer websites. There was a notable turn higher in the two-year growth rate of spending at clothing and department stores for the seven days ending June 19, said Bank of America’s head of U.S. economics Michelle Meyer in a new research report Thursday. Meyer cites data compiled from BofA credit and debit card transactions. The two-year sales growth rate at clothing stores rose 13 percentage points to 36%, Meyer finds. As for department stores, the two-year growth rate surged 25 percentage points to 16%. Read more at Yahoo.