Retail Sales Show Increase in August
Retail sales in the United States saw a 0.6% increase from July to August of this year, according to recent data from the Census Bureau. Additionally, sales were up by 2.5% compared to August of the previous year.
The report, which provides advance estimates of retail and food services sales for August 2023, states that these figures have been adjusted for seasonal variations and differences in holiday and trading-day periods. The total sales amount for August was $697.6 billion.
It is important to note that while sales in August surpassed expectations, the numbers for June and July were revised downwards. In particular, the June 2023 to July 2023 percent change was revised from 0.7% to 0.5%.
Graph:
The first graph depicts monthly retail sales since 1992. These figures are seasonally adjusted to reflect total retail sales and food service, excluding gasoline purchases. In August, retail sales, excluding gasoline, saw an increase of 0.2%.
The second graph displays the year-over-year change in retail sales and food service, excluding gasoline, since 1993. On a year-over-year basis, retail and food service sales showed a 3.8% increase.
