Retail and food sales were up about 6.9 percent from last year, but fell slightly compared to last month, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Consumers spent an estimated $362.5 billion on retail and food in May, when adjusted for seasonal variation.
Retail sales were down in May by 1.4 percent compared to the month earlier, but were up more than 7 percent from last year. Gasoline sales were up more than 20 percent compared to last year.
From March to May, retail sales were 8 percent higher than during the same time period last year.
