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May Results Suggest Modest Shopper Recovery

A modest retail recovery continued during the month of May as discounters, drug stores, and mass merchants led sales gains among retailers.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A modest retail recovery continued during the month of May as discounters, drug stores, and mass merchants led sales gains among retailers.

A composite of 30 retailers reporting sales for the four-week period ending May 30 on Thursday showed same-store gains of 2.7% compared with the same period last year, according to Kantar Retail here. Kantar noted the May result was stronger than the 1.2% gain the same group posted in April, but slightly below expectations overall.

Among retailers selling food, BJ's Wholesale Club posted a comparable sales gain of 4% excluding gasoline, led by a 6% comp increase in food sales. BJ's noted that store traffic, excluding gasoline, increased 4% for the month but that average sales ticket decreased slightly.

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