Retail and food service sales in the US declined 0.5% to $401.5bn in June 2012, on a seasonally adjusted basis, from the previous month, according to the US Department of Commerce (DOC).
Excluding motor vehicle & parts dealers, retail and food service sales were down by 0.4% in June from May.
On a monthly basis, motor vehicle & parts dealers sales fell 0.6%, while furniture and home furnishing stores sales slipped 0.8% in June.
Sales at electronics & appliance stores edged down 0.8%, while health & personal care stores sales fell 0.7% in June from the previous month.
Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores sales decreased 0.6% in June, while nonstore retailers saw an increase of 0.5% in sales.
Miscellaneous store retailers also recorded 0.5% growth in sales in the month and sales at gasoline stations edged down 1.8%.
Sales at food and beverage stores declined 0.1%, while sales at food services & drinking places fell 0.2% in June from the previous month.
Month-on-month, sales of building material & garden supplies dealers were down by 1.6% in June from May.
Year-on-year, retail and food service sales increased 3.8% in June, but retail trade sales were up by 3.5%.
Excluding motor vehicle and parts, retail and food service sales grew 3% in June, on an annual basis.
Sales at nonstore retailers rose the highest to 10.9% year-on-year in June and motor vehicle & parts dealers sales jumped 7.3% in the month.
Food services & drinking places sales grew 6.3% in June, while food and beverage stores sales rose 2.5%.
Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers sales increased 0.6% in June from the same month a year ago.
Year-on-year, sales in department stores and electronics & appliance stores were down by 3.2% and 1%, respectively, in June.
In the April-June period, total sales advanced 4.7%, as compared with the same period a year ago.
Image: Retail trade sales fell 0.5% in June from May, but grew 3.5% from June 2011. Photo: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
