Retail sales grow in August, pandemic recovery continues

WASHINGTON – The National Retail Federation is reporting that retail sales continued to recover from the coronavirus pandemic in August. Retail sales are showing a gradual improvement from July and larger gains year-over-year.

The U.S. Census Bureau said today that overall retail sales during August were up 0.6 percent seasonally adjusted from July and up 2.6 percent year-over-year. That follows a 0.9 percent month-over-month increase in July. Retail sales have been climbing after a record monthly drop while most stores were closed in April.

National Retail Federation’s (NRF) calculation of retail sales – which excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants in order to focus on core retail – showed August was up 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted from July and up 5.6 percent unadjusted year-over-year. NRF’s results are different from the Census Bureau’s figures because of the categories excluded by NRF.

The August NRF numbers build on a 0.6 percent monthly increase and 9.6 percent year-over-year increase in July. NRF’s numbers were up 8.5 percent unadjusted year-over-year on a three-month moving average.

Just over half of retail categories saw month-over-month gains and two-thirds saw year-over-year increases. The biggest monthly gain came at clothing stores, but their sales remained far below last year.

Specifics from key retail sectors during August include:

  • Clothing and clothing accessory stores were up 2.9 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted but down 23.5 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
  • Furniture and home furnishings stores were up 2.1 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 0.4 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
  • Building materials and garden supply stores were up 2 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 11.9 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
  • Electronics and appliance stores were up 0.8 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted but down 3.4 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
  • Online and other non-store sales were unchanged month-over-month seasonally adjusted but up 20.1 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
  • Health and personal care stores were up 0.8 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 3.3 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
  • General merchandise stores were down 0.4 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and down 0.2 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
  • Grocery and beverage stores were down 1.2 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted but up 8.3 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
  • Sporting goods stores were down 5.7 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted but up 8 percent unadjusted year-over-year.