Retail sales continued their gradual improvement in August, rising 0.6% seasonally adjusted from July and 2.6% year-over-year, according to Census Bureau data. The monthly increase is down slightly from the 0.9% growth seen in July, but still shows the industry gaining upward momentum after its lows earlier this year.
In comparison, the National Retail Federation’s calculations, which exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants, showed August sales up 0.1% seasonally adjusted from July and up 5.6% unadjusted year-over-year. The NRF’s numbers were also up 8.5% unadjusted year-over-year on a three-month moving average.
“While August retail sales numbers were a bit mixed, we believe the consumer is resilient and is in good shape as we head into the holiday season,” said Matthew Shay, President and CEO of NRF. “Over the past several months, consumers have responded well to federal relief measures that have supported the recovery, so it comes as no surprise that they would take a pause on spending as some of these programs tapered off at the end of July.”
Individual sales results from the retail sectors NRF examined for August include:
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- Clothing and clothing accessory stores: Up 2.9% month-over-month seasonally adjusted but down 23.5% unadjusted year-over-year;
- Furniture and home furnishings stores: Up 2.1% month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 0.4% unadjusted year-over-year;
- Building materials and garden supply stores: Up 2% month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 11.9% unadjusted year-over-year;
- Electronics and appliance stores: Up 0.8% month-over-month seasonally adjusted but down 3.4% unadjusted year-over-year;
- Online and other non-store sales: Unchanged month-over-month seasonally adjusted but up 20.1% unadjusted year-over-year;
- Health and personal care stores: Up 0.8% month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 3.3% unadjusted year-over-year;
- General merchandise stores: Down 0.4% month-over-month seasonally adjusted and down 0.2% unadjusted year-over-year;
- Grocery and beverage stores: Down 1.2% month-over-month seasonally adjusted but up 8.3% unadjusted year-over-year; and
- Sporting goods stores: Down 5.7% month-over-month seasonally adjusted but up 8% unadjusted year-over-year.
NRF found that shopper habits have stabilized since stores began to reopen, and overall spending has remained intact despite the uncertainty of the back-to-school season. The organization continues to advocate for additional government stimulus to help the economy recover further, particularly with the holiday season rapidly approaching.
