August retail sales see gains, says NRF and Commerce

August retail sales saw annual gains, according to data issued this week by the United States Department of Commerce and the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Commerce reported that August retail sales were up 0.4% annually, to $526.1 billion, and were up 0.8% over July's $524.2 billion. And it added that total retail sales from June through August headed up 3.7% compared to the same period a year ago.

Retail trade sales were up 4.6% annually, and non-store retailers (which is largely comprised of e-commerce sales) saw a 16% increase.

NRF reported that August retail sales rose 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to July and were up 4.6% on an unadjusted basis annually. NRF's data excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations, and restaurants.

On a three-month moving average through August, NRF said that retail sales were up 4.1% annually, ahead of a 3.5% gain through July.

“While consumer attitudes about the economy indicate some retreating optimism, the bottom line is that consumer spending remained resilient in August and continued to be a key contributor to U.S. economic growth,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a statement. “Trends remain strong, but August grew somewhat slower than July, which could reflect consumers' concerns about the unpredictability of trade policy. It is too early to assess the impact of the new tariffs that took effect at the beginning of this month, but they do present downside risks to household spending.”

NRF noted that new 15% tariffs on a wide range of consumer goods from China took effect September 1 and are scheduled to be expanded to additional goods on December 15, covering a total of about $300 billion in imports. And 25% tariffs already in effect on $250 billion worth of imports are set to increase to 30 percent on October 15.

Key retail sales segments, for July, cited by the NRF include:

• Online and other non-store sales were up 14.3 percent year-over-year and up 1.6 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted;
• Grocery and beverage stores were up 4.9 percent year-over-year but down 0.2 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted;
• Sporting goods stores were up 3.8 percent year-over-year and up 0.9 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted;
• Health and personal care stores were up 2.9 percent year-over-year and up 0.7 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted;
• Clothing and clothing accessory stores were up 2.3 percent year-over-year but down 0.9 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted;
• General merchandise stores were up 2.2 percent year-over-year but down 0.3 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted;
• Furniture and home furnishings stores were down 0.1 percent year-over-year and down 0.5 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted;
• Building materials and garden supply stores were down 0.6 percent year-over-year but up 1.4 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted; and
• Electronics and appliance stores were down 2.9 percent year-over-year and unchanged month-over-month seasonally adjusted

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