U.S. Retail Sales Rose Again in July

Retail and food services sales in the U.S. once again increased in July, rising 1.2 percent from the previous month and 2.7 percent above numbers in July 2019, according to the Census Bureau’s monthly retail sales report released this morning.

Total sales hit $536 billion in July, according to the advance estimates. Retail trade sales rose 0.8 percent from June and 5.8 percent above figures from the same time period last year. Notably, sales at nonstore retailers were up 24.7 percent year-over-year, while food and beverage stores were up 11.1 percent from last year.