Retail Sales for Non-Essentials Slide

U.S. discretionary retail sales revenue fell four per cent in February 2023 compared to February 2022 and unit sales were down five per cent, says Circana. Consumers spent nine per cent more on food and beverage products in February than they did in the year-ago period. However, the gap between sales-revenue and unit-sales performance is narrowing, particularly among general merchandise and non-edible consumer packaged goods (CPGs).