Retail sales unexpectedly jump in September as consumers keep spending
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Americans picked up their retail spending in September, even as they confronted an uptick in inflation, high interest rates and fears over an economic recession.
Retail sales, a measure of how much consumers spent on a number of everyday goods including cars, food and gasoline, rose 0.7% in September, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That is above the 0.3% increase projected by Refinitiv economists and just below the revised 0.8% gain recorded in August.
Excluding the more volatile measurements of gasoline and autos, sales climbed 0.6% last month.
The September advance is not adjusted for inflation, meaning that consumers may be spending the same but getting less bang for their buck.
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A shopper browses albums at a record store in Atlanta on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. (Photographer: Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Consumers spent more at grocery stores, gas stations, health and personal stores and restaurants and bars. They also continued to open their wallets when online shopping, with spending at non-store retailers jumping 1.1% from the previous month, and at miscellaneous store retailers, which surged 3% over the course of the month.
«Consumer spending shows little sign of flagging, especially when purchases increased on everything from durable goods, such as autos, to the least durable goods, food and drink at bars and restaurants,» said Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.
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Sales rose in eight of 13 retail categories last month.
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