Apple product launches have an undeniable effect on electronic store sales

Those massive iPhones sales aren't just good news for Apple. Apparently, they're good news for other companies, too.

Over the last few years, whenever a new Apple product comes out, sales at electronic stores go up.

Sure, much of this is likely due to the sale of actual Apple products. But even the folks just there to look at the new gadget may end up grabbing something else while they're inside the store.

Things appear to have gone that way again for electronic stores following the Apple Watch release.

"Spending at electronic stores increased in April, after the past few months of weakness," according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Michelle Meyer. Meyer's analysis incorporates Bank of America's card spending data.

"The Apple Watch was released this month, which could have contributed to greater spending. However, consumers pre-ordered the watch in April, which means the actual sale occurs with a lag. This implies a greater boost in sales is likely coming in May," according to Meyer.

This slight increase in spending at electronic stores appears to be in line with expectations for Wednesday's retail sales report. Overall, Economists are expecting sales to climb slightly by 0.2% for April, and if you exclude autos and gas, to increase by 0.6%.

The April retail sales report will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday.