Consumers still shopping despite economy facing growth pressure

Consumers continued to increase spending in July despite that growth of the economy is moderating, according to the National Retail Federation.

“July’s retail sale figures mirror the strength in the economy, which continues to expand even though there are pressures on growth,” National Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a press release regarding retail spending trends. “The midsummer boost from back-to-school and college spending along with special deal days offered by retailers clearly helped. Households are proceeding with measured spending and getting the benefit of falling retail prices despite still-elevated prices for services.”

Overall retail sales in July were up 1% seasonally adjusted month over month, according to data from the Census Bureau.

July’s core retail sales as defined by NRF were up 0.4% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 5.2% unadjusted year over year. Core retail sales were up 3.4% year-over-year for the first seven months of the year, in line with NRF’s forecast for 2024 retail sales to grow between 2.5% and 3.5% over 2023.