Aug. 15, 2024 — Retail sales in the U.S. continued to rise in July, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Retail Federation (NRF) shares. The figures indicate that consumer spending remains strong, even as the overall growth of the economy shows signs of moderation.

The Census Bureau reported a 1% increase in overall retail sales for July, seasonally adjusted, compared to the previous month. On a year-over-year basis, sales were up 2.7%. This marks a significant improvement from June, when retail sales saw a slight decline of 0.2% month over month but a 2% increase year over year.

Core retail sales—which exclude auto dealers, gas stations, and restaurants—rose by 0.4% seasonally adjusted in July compared to June and were up 5.2% year over year. For the first seven months of 2024, core retail sales were 3.4% higher than the same period in 2023, aligning with NRF’s forecast of annual retail sales growth between 2.5% and 3.5%.

“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,” says NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz. “Even with growth of the labor force cooling, consumer spending remains the backbone of the economy and is keeping the expansion on a positive path.”

The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, which uses anonymized credit and debit card data from Affinity Solutions, reported a 0.95% increase in core retail sales in July compared to June and a 1.69% increase year over year. These figures differ slightly from the Census Bureau's data due to the different methodologies used, NRF shares.