U.S. retail sales rise in May, signaling steady Home Depot demand

Stronger May retail sales suggest Home Depot is heading into the summer selling season with demand still intact, but the way customers are spending is changing the job on the sales floor. The U.S. Census Bureau said retail and food services sales reached $763.7 billion in May, up 0.9% from April and 6.9% from a year earlier, while nonstore retailers jumped 12.2% from May 2025. For store teams, that points to a customer who is still buying, but often after researching online, comparing prices at the shelf, and expecting fast fulfillment once the decision is made.

The April-to-May gain was broad enough to matter. Retail trade sales rose 1.0% month over month and 7.5% year over year, and the March-through-May period was up 5.3% from the same stretch in 2025. The prior month was also revised up slightly, reinforcing the picture of a consumer that has not pulled back sharply even with prices and expectations unsettled. For Home Depot associates, that means traffic can hold up, especially in maintenance and repair, but winning the sale increasingly depends on getting the right product in front of the customer at the right moment.

Home Depot’s own latest quarterly numbers fit that read. The company reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 sales of $41.8 billion on May 19, up 4.8% from a year earlier, with comparable sales up 0.6% overall and 0.4% in the United States. Management said its core shopper remained “engaged” and resilient despite higher gas prices and low consumer confidence, even as customers stayed cautious about larger, financed projects. The company also reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 guidance, a signal that leadership sees enough stability to keep planning against a measured growth backdrop.

The housing market adds another layer. The National Association of REALTORS® said existing-home sales rose 3.2% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million, the highest level since December, while the median existing-home price reached $429,300, up 1.3% from a year earlier. At the same time, the National Association of Home Builders said builder confidence fell to 35 in June and stayed below 50 for a 26th straight month. That mix favors Home Depot’s renovation, repair and seasonal categories more than a broad new-construction surge, and it raises the stakes for store readiness, staffing and fulfillment accuracy as summer projects ramp. In a market like this, the stores that pair local expertise with speed and clean execution are the ones most likely to convert steady demand into sales.