Mixed bag from monthly sales report
Sales for building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers, the comprehensive category that includes home centers, hardware stores and lumberyards, were up slightly, according to government data released Thursday.
The category (NAICS 444) stood at an unadjusted $43,852 million for August, up 4.0 percent from July. On an adjusted basis, NAICS 444 sales were up a mere 0.1 percent.
Compared to the same month last year, however, sales were down 3.8 percent on an unadjusted basis, and down 4.9 percent, on an adjusted basis.
Overall, advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales across all of retail for August 2023, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $697.6 billion, up 0.6 percent from the previous month, and up 2.5 percent above August 2022.
Food service and drinking places were up 8.5 percent from August 2022.
Core retail sales in August were up a mere 0.1% from July, and up 3.3% year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation, whose calculation excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants. In July, sales rose 0.7% month-over-month and increased 3.3% year-over-year.
“NRF’s numbers show the pace of retail growth cooled from July but that consumers are still active even as they continue to be selective and price sensitive,” said NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “Households have the capacity to spend, but momentum is slowing, in part because savings built up during the pandemic are running lower and credit costs are rising.”
