ARLINGTON, Va.—Retail sales continued to recover in July and rose 1.2%, following an 8.4% rise in June.
NAFCU's Curt Long noted retail sales growth continues to grow at a solid rate, with gains in July concentrated in distressed sectors such as electronic and appliance stores, which showed a 22.9% rise in sales.
"The big question now is how will August sales respond to the reduction in unemployment benefits," said Long, NAFCU's chief economist and vice president of research. "On an unannualized basis, retail spending totaled roughly $45 billion in July. With tens of millions of consumers set to see their incomes drop by several hundred dollars per week, that will undoubtedly have some impact on consumption."
In addition to electronic and appliance stores, other segments that saw large rebounds in July included gas stations (+6.2%), apparel stores (+5.7%) and restaurants and bars (+5%). Most sectors are still well below their year-ago levels. However, some sectors such as building materials, sporting goods, and non-store retailers are up significantly from a year ago, Long said.
Year-over-year growth in retail sales increased 2.6% in July following a 2.1% rise in June. Control group sales were up 2.8% from a year ago.