NAICS 444 sales trail other sectors
Across the entire retail industry, advance estimates of sales for the month of November were down 0.6. percent for the month, but up 6.5 percent for the year.
How does that compare to the hardware and building supply industry? Answer, not as good.
On an unadjusted basis, the retail category of building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (NAICS 444) in November posted a 5.1 percent decline compared to the previous month, and a 3.7 percent increase compared to the same month of 2021.
According to the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau, NAICS 444 retailers hit $40,943 million in sales in November, on an unadjusted basis, down from $43,156 million in October.
Categories that produced better year-over-year percent gains include: Gasoline stations (+16.2%), Food service and drinking places (+14.1%), Miscellaneous store retailers (+12.1%), Food and beverage stores (+8.1%) and Nonstore retailers (+7.7%).
At the National Retail Federation, analysts were impressed by the year-over-year gains, despite the monthly drop.
“Consumers continued to spend on household priorities and holiday gifts for loved ones this November despite continued inflation and rising interest rates,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Holiday shoppers are demonstrating resilience, and retailers are providing great products and experiences at the right price levels to help stretch household budgets. Consumers have been shifting back to in-store shopping for a more traditional holiday shopping experience, and we expect record participation for this year’s Super Saturday shopping weekend.”
NRF’s calculation of retail sales – which excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants to focus on core retail – showed November was down 0.4% from October but up 5.6% unadjusted year over year. In October, sales were up 0.6% month over month and up 6.2% year over year.
NRF’s numbers were up 6.5% unadjusted year over year on a three-month moving average as of November, and up 7.2% year over year for the first 11 months of the year.
In the hardware store category (NAICS 44413), October is the latest month for which sales data is available. Hardware stores showed a gain for both the month and the year.
On an unadjusted basis, hardware store sales were at $3.48 billion in October, up from $3.13 billion in October of 2021, and up from $3.37 billion in September 2022.