Retail Monitor Registers July Sales Gain as Shoppers Bought Ahead of Tariff Hike

July retail spending bounced back after a soft June as consumers sought out summer sales to buy goods before potentially higher tariffs took effect, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor released by the National Retail Federation.

July total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were up 1.45% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 5.89% unadjusted year over year compared with a decrease of 0.33% month over month and an increase of 3.19% year over year in June.

The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales, which excludes restaurants in addition to automobile dealers and gasoline stations, gained 1.55% month over month in July and 5.93% year over year, compared with a decrease of 0.32% month over month and an increase of 3.36% year over year in June.

Total retail sales advanced 4.83% year over year for the first seven months of the year and core sales grew 5.07%.

By channel, the July sales came in as:

• General merchandise stores were up 2.04% month over month seasonally adjusted and 6.94% year over year unadjusted.
• Furniture and home furnishings stores were up 0.98% month over month seasonally adjusted and 1.53% year over year unadjusted.
• Building and garden supply stores were up 1.32% month over month seasonally adjusted but down 4.11% year over year unadjusted.
• Health and personal care stores were up 1.69% month over month seasonally adjusted and 4.44% year over year unadjusted.
• Electronics and appliance stores were down 0.51% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 2.11% year over year unadjusted.
• Grocery and beverage stores were up 1.43% month over month seasonally adjusted and 5.42% year over year unadjusted.
• Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores were up 2.36% month over month seasonally adjusted and 9.99% year over year unadjusted.
• Clothing and accessories stores were up 1.75% month over month seasonally adjusted and 6.73% year over year unadjusted.
• Digital products, such as electronic books and games, were up 1.35% month over month seasonally adjusted and 25.01% year over year unadjusted.

In announcing the July sales, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay maintained, “Consumer spending increased in July, driven by successful summer sales events held by many retailers and shoppers continuing to pull purchases forward ahead of tariffs. Month-over-month gains were sizable against a weaker-than-normal June. We may be seeing growing inflationary impacts from tariffs since recent data shows price increases in commodity goods, particularly non-durables. Even with weaker job growth than many expected, consumers still have the ability to spend on household priorities as wages are growing above the rate of inflation.”

Unlike survey-based numbers collected by the Census Bureau, the Retail Monitor uses anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions and does not need to be revised monthly or annually.

SOURCE: HomePage News