Abraham Yousef · January 2023
Declining Retail Sales Harbinger for Retail 4Q22 Earnings
US retail sales fell 1.1% MoM in December 2022, with department stores, autos, home furnishings, and electronics being the worst hit. The slowing macro economy, including rising food prices, inflation, layoffs, and interest rates, is cutting into consumers' ability to spend, forcing an increased dependency on credit. The three largest retailers, Amazon, Walmart, and Target, had decelerating mobile app trends in 4Q22, with Amazon seeing the largest decline in quarterly average MAU growth YoY, down 5%.
Key Takeaways:
December 2022 US Retail Sales fell 1.1% MoM, driven by weakness in department stores, autos, home furnishings and electronics; corroborated by Sensor Tower metrics, which saw mobile app MAUs for the cohorts fall in the month and 4Q22
December MAU growth in apparel, home furnishings and consumer electronics fell 1.4%, 11% and 12% YoY, respectively
Slowing macro economy, including skyrocketing food prices, general inflation, increased layoffs and rising interest rates cutting into consumers’ ability to spend, forcing an increased dependency on credit
The three largest retailers - Amazon, Walmart and Target - had decelerating mobile app trends in 4Q22 with Amazon seeing the largest decline in quarterly average MAU growth YoY, down 5%, while Target fell 1.6% and Walmart rose slightly, per Sensor Tower estimates
Walmart’s large grocery assortment (60% of sales from grocery) likely buoyed download and MAU growth
Downloads for the Sensor Tower retail cohort spiked in 4Q22, rising ~18% YoY, though MAU growth fell just under 2%, as it is becoming increasingly difficult for retailers to drive user engagement on their apps, given the lack of switching costs and conversion that is often driven by deals or promotions
For more information, request the full report from reports@sensortower.com.
