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Record Gain in U.S. Retail Sales Offers Hope of Faster Recovery

  • Data show pent-up demand but sustained rebound could take time
  • Optimism tempered by tepid factories, rise in Covid-19 cases
Shoppers wait in line to enter a store at the South Coast Plaza shopping mall in Costa Mesa, California, on June 15.

Shoppers wait in line to enter a store at the South Coast Plaza shopping mall in Costa Mesa, California, on June 15.

Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg
Updated on

American consumers are getting their groove back as a record surge in May retail sales offered some hope of a quicker recovery from the pandemic-induced recession.

The 17.7% advance from the prior month, to $485 billion in receipts, was the biggest gain in data going back to 1992, following unprecedented declines in the prior two months, according to Commerce Department data out Tuesday.