Current:Home > FinanceRetail sales rose solidly last month in a sign that consumers are still spending freely -TradeWise
Retail sales rose solidly last month in a sign that consumers are still spending freely
View
Date:2025-04-18 17:29:05
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans increased their purchases at retailers last month – for clothing, dining out, sporting goods and other areas-- in a sign that solid consumer spending is still powering a resilient U.S. economy.
Retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.7% in July from June, according to the Commerce Department’s report Tuesday. The gain followed a revised 0.3% gain the previous month, the government said.
Excluding autos and gas, sales rose a solid 1%.
Sales at a number of different outlets increased. Department stores posted a 0.9% increase, while clothing and accessories stores had a 1% gain. Sales at sporting goods stores and hobby stores rose 1.5%. At restaurants, sales rose 1.4%, while online sales rose 1.9%. But furniture and home furnishings stores and electronics stores remained weak, registering declines.
The uptick reflects the economy’s resiliency despite a still challenging economic environment of still high prices and higher interest rates that make borrowing on credit cards and getting a mortgage for a home more expensive. Yet spending has been volatile this year after surging nearly 3% in January. Sales tumbled in February and March before recovering in April and May.
The report comes as inflation has cooled but not enough to meet the Federal Reserve’s target rate.
Inflation in the United States edged up in July after 12 straight months of declines. But excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core inflation matched the smallest monthly rise in nearly two years. That’s a sign that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes have continued to slow price increases.
The inflation data the government reported last week showed that overall consumer prices rose 3.2% from a year earlier. The latest figure remained far below last year’s peak of 9.1%, though still above the Fed’s 2% inflation target.
Overall prices, measured on a month-to-month basis rose 0.2% in July; roughly 90% of it reflected higher housing costs. Excluding shelter, Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics calculated that core prices actually fell 0.1% from June to July.
A slew of earnings results from big companies like Walmart, Target and Macy’s this week and next should offer some more clues on shoppers’ mindset and how they will manage inflation in the latter half of the year including the critical holiday season.
Home Depot, the nation’s largest home improvement retailer, reported on Tuesday second-quarter results that topped profit and sales expectations, but sales continued to decline as inflation and soaring interest rates playing a larger role in the spending choices by Americans.
Despite the stronger-than-expected sales figures, Home Depot stuck to previous guidance for the year, seeing sales decline between 2% and 5%, after lowering its forecast in the last quarter.
At least one retailer is already kicking off holiday sales earlier than last year to get shoppers to spend.
Lowe’s, the nation’s second-largest home improvement retailer, started offering some holiday merchandise like wreaths and other home decor online last month, roughly two months earlier than a year ago as it saw shoppers began search online for holiday items this summer, according to Bill Boltz, Lowe’s executive vice president of merchandising.
________
AP Economics Writer Paul Wiseman in Washington and AP Business Writer Michelle Chapman in New York contributed to this report.
___
Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio
veryGood! (349)
Related
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- How did each Supreme Court justice vote in today's student loan forgiveness ruling? Here's a breakdown
- BMX Rider Pat Casey Dead at 29 After Accident at Motocross Park
- Vanderpump Rules' Lala Kent’s Affordable Amazon Haul is So Chic You’d Never “Send it to Darrell
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- 5 Ways Trump’s Clean Power Rollback Strips Away Health, Climate Protections
- An Unusual Coalition of Environmental and Industry Groups Is Calling on the EPA to Quickly Phase Out Super-Polluting Refrigerants
- Al Pacino Breaks Silence on Expecting Baby With Pregnant Girlfriend Noor Alfallah
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Father’s Day Gifts From Miko That Will Make Dad Feel the Opposite of the Way He Does in Traffic
Ranking
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Why Jinger Duggar Vuolo Didn’t Participate in Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets
- Danny Bonaduce Speaks Out After Undergoing Brain Surgery
- DeSantis Recognizes the Threat Posed by Climate Change, but Hasn’t Embraced Reducing Carbon Emissions
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Texas Charges Oil Port Protesters Under New Fossil Fuel Protection Law
- 5 Ways Trump’s Clean Power Rollback Strips Away Health, Climate Protections
- Biden lays out new path for student loan relief after Supreme Court decision
Recommendation
New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
General Hospital's Jack and Kristina Wagner Honor Son Harrison on First Anniversary of His Death
Senate 2020: In Alaska, a Controversy Over an Embattled Mine Has Tightened the Race
Former Exxon Scientists Tell Congress of Oil Giant’s Climate Research Before Exxon Turned to Denial
San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
U.S. Wind Power Is ‘Going All Out’ with Bigger Tech, Falling Prices, Reports Show
Prince Harry Chokes Up on Witness Stand Amid Phone-Hacking Case
Interactive: Superfund Sites Vulnerable to Climate Change