Retail sales data for August
- Prior +0.6% (revised to +0.3%)
- Ex-autos +0.2% vs 0.5% exp m/m.
- Prior ex-autos +0.5%
- Ex-autos & gas -0.1% vs +0.3% exp m/m.
- Prior ex-autos & gas +0.5%
- Retail sales control group -0.2% (-0.166% unrounded) vs +0.2% exp
- Prior control group +0.6%
- Full report (pdf)
The hurricane could have been the culprit for the soft August numbers but storms certainly were the cause of the negative revision to July data.
Selected highlights:
- Vehicles and parts -1.6%
- Building materials -0.5%
- Food and beverage +0.3%
- Electronics stores -0.7%
- Gasoline stations +2.5%
- Non-store retailers (this is online sales) -1.1%
The online sales are an eyebrow raiser given the momentum of Amazon. They're still up 8% year-over-year but this might have been a hangover from Prime Day, which took place July 11.
