US clothing sales are setting new records, but can it last?

Sales at US clothing and accessory stores are doing better than just recovering from the pandemic. They’re reaching new highs.

The industry’s sales rose this June over the previous month and were 47% higher compared to the same time last year, according to new data from the US Census Bureau (pdf). That’s when Covid-19 was still hampering fashion sales around the country, so sales would be expected to show a substantial rise. But sales have grown well above their pre-pandemic levels, rising 15.5% over the same period in June 2019.