Consumption continued to grow in the United States in July, beating market expectations as Americans saw their purchasing power strengthen amid slower inflation and rising wages, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday. .
In July, the total amount of retail sales amounted to 696.4 billion dollars, 0.7% more than in the month of June, whose data was revised slightly upwards (+0.3% compared to +0.2% originally announced). This is a stronger increase than expected by analysts, who were more likely to see +0.4%, according to the consensus published by briefing.com.
One year ahead, the increase is 3.2%%, and it is still 2.2% if we exclude auto sales. The latter, in fact, increased by 7.6% during the same period, even if they fell by 0.3% compared to the previous month. The global increase was concentrated especially in online sales, which account for most of the trend, with the latter increasing by 10.3% in one year, while store sales only increased by 0.6% in the year. same period.
Amazon Prime Day Effect
Online consumption has particularly benefited from the effect of Amazon Prime Day, which was celebrated in July, according to analysts. “Consumers have largely favored spending on services in recent months, but the summer sales have boosted spending online and, to a lesser extent, in-store, especially in anticipation of the back-to-school period,” he says. The report. a note Kayla Bruun, an analyst at Morning Consult.
On the services side, restaurants and bars continue to benefit from a positive trend, with an increase in sales of 11.9% in one year. In addition, as a sign of the slowdown in inflation, fuel sales fell by 20.8% in one year, due to the lower oil prices compared to last year, even though they were reassembled last month. Similarly, food spending rose 2.5% in one year, after experiencing a more marked runaway in 2022.
Source: BFM TV
