Retail sales beat Wall Street estimates in July

VaselineAugust 15, 2024

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Retail sales beat Wall Street estimates in July, helping ease concerns about a significant slowdown in the US economy.

Retail sales rose 1% in July. Economists had expected a 0.4 percent increase in spending, according to Bloomberg data. Meanwhile, June retail sales were revised lower to a 0.2 percent drop from an earlier reading that showed sales were flat from the month, according to Census Bureau data.

July sales, excluding autos and gasoline, rose 0.4 percent, beating consensus estimates for a 0.2 percent increase. The control group in Tuesday’s statement, which excludes several categories and volatile factors in the gross domestic product reading for the quarter, rose 0.3 percent in July, beating estimates for a 0.1 percent rise.

Auto and parts dealers led category gains, rising 3.6 percent, while sales at electronics and home appliance stores rose 1.6 percent.

Also Thursday, Walmart raised its full-year sales guidance as Chief Financial Officer John Rainey told CNBC that the retailer doesn’t “see any further deterioration in consumer health.”

The update on consumer spending comes amid broader concerns about the health of the US economy. The latest retail sales data, combined with better-than-expected inflation readings also released this week, led economists to argue that the Fed should shift its focus from the path inflation to labor market concerns and what its slowdown could mean for the overall economy.

“The focus is shifting more to growth data,” Nicholas Brooks, head of economic and investment research at ICG, told Yahoo Finance. “What happens with retail sales and other indicators of consumer sentiment, I think will be increasingly important indicators for the markets.”