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Consumer confidence fuels blistering sales at Bed Bath & Beyond this spring

Consumers appear to be in the mood to buy new towels, sheets and kitchen gadgets judging by some new comments out of Bed Bath & Beyond's CEO Mark Tritton.

"We have seen overall growth, February was strong. We saw the [retail sales] results in March come out about 10% growth. We are dramatically exceeding that growth rate in the month of March," Tritton tells Yahoo Finance Live.

The comments come on the heels of a blistering March retail sales report.

Retail sales last month surged a seasonally adjusted 9.8%, according to the Commerce Department, bouncing back hard from a 3% drop in February. Wall Street had expected a 5.5% increase. Strong gains were seen throughout retail in the month, namely home furnishings, online and apparel as consumers spent their stimulus checks and found new jobs with the pandemic rounding the corner.

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Tritton thinks the momentum will continue in the months ahead.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 28: A Bed, Bath & Beyond is photographed in Pasadena on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 28: A Bed, Bath & Beyond is photographed in Pasadena on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Dania Maxwell via Getty Images)

"We see good things lay ahead for the quarter. We see general consumer confidence is strong, and that is strengthening in digital formats as well as store formats. I think the COVID moment is still omni-present in the minds of consumers, but confidence factors have changed definitely," Tritton says.

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) shares rose 3.9% on Friday in the wake of Tritton's comments.

The retailer's investors surely welcome the commentary and sales trends.

Shares of the home goods retailer plunged 16% this week after the company warned of more store closures in 2021 and offered a mixed first quarter outlook compared with analyst estimates. But perhaps overlooked in the initial reaction is that the turnaround under Tritton looks to be continuing.

The company notched its third straight quarter of same-store sales gains in the fourth quarter amid better merchandising and promotional strategies. Adjusted operating profits rose 13% in the quarter from a year ago.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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