Mastercard: Retail sales in June up 11% year-over-year and 10.4% over 2019

U.S. retail sales continue to heat up, with June marking the ninth consecutive month of total retail sales growth.

Excluding gas and automotive, U.S. retail sales rose 11.0% over the year-ago period and 10.4% compared to June 2019, according to Mastercard Spending Plus, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment. Online growth continued to hold steady, rising 8.3% year-over-year and 95.0% compared to June 2019,  reflecting the ongoing shift to digital, driven by the pandemic.

Mastercard noted that consumers continue to venture out more for meals and shop both online and in stores, refreshing their looks for summer camp, vacations and travel. Specifically, sales growth for restaurants  increased 55% year-over-year and 16.8% compared to June 2019. Department store sales increased 67.4% year-over year and  11.8% compared to June 2019.

Apparel sales rose 62.9.1% year-over-year and 12.7% compared to June 2019.

The furniture and home furnishings sector experienced its first month of negative year-over-year growth, down 5.3% compared to last year's strong sales, when consumers were doing home projects in the midst of the pandemic. But sales remain elevated for the sector overall, up 16.6% compared to June 2019.