Consumers’ willingness to spend overcame inflation in August as more jobs and increased wages helped to ease the pressure of enduring high prices, the National Retail Federation said today.
“August retail sales show consumers’ resiliency to spend on household priorities despite persistent inflation and rising interest rates,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “As we gear up for the holiday season, consumers are seeking value to make their dollars stretch.
“Consumers continuing to spend more each month points to the benefits of strong job and wage growth and their use of pandemic savings to help handle persistent elevated prices,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said.
The U.S. Census Bureau said last week that retail sales in August were up 0.3 percent from July and 9.1 percent year over year. That compared with a month-over-month decline of 0.4 percent and a year-over-year increase of 10.1 percent in July. On a three-month moving average, sales were up 9.3 percent year-over-year.
