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WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Retail sales continued to recover from the coronavirus pandemic in August, showing a gradual improvement from July and larger gains year-over-year, the National Retail Federation said today. While August retail sales numbers were a bit mixed, we believe the consumer is resilient and is in good shape as we head into the holiday season, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. Over the past several months, consumers have responded well to federal relief measures that have supported the recovery, so it comes as no surprise that they would take a pause on spending as some of these programs tapered off at the end of July. We continue to advocate for additional stimulus measures to help the economy recover. With the holidays quickly approaching, our retailers are prepared to serve customers to meet all of their holiday needs and are embracing the new holiday tradition of shopping early. August was topsy-turvy as COVID-19 brought a lot of shifts and uncertainty regarding back-to-school spending and other issues but consumer spending remains intact even if sales grew less than July, NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. Retail spending habits have remained largely consistent and stable these past few months since stores began to reopen. Some consumers likely reduced their spending with the end of the $600 supplemental unemployment benefits for those out of work, but a building-up of savings from that and other government cash helped support spending. At this juncture, it is difficult to sort out how much economic activity is due to government support and how much is evidence of hardcore demand due to recent job gains. August numbers might have been higher if not for small businesses struggling with reopening and the return to full operations. The U.S. Census Bureau said today that overall retail sales during August were up 0.6 percent seasonally adjusted from July and up 2.6 percent year-over-year. That follows a 0.9 percent month-over-month increase in July. Retail sales have been climbing after a record monthly drop while most stores were closed in April. NRFs calculation of retail sales which excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants in order to focus on core retail showed August was up 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted from July and up 5.6 percent unadjusted year-over-year. NRFs results are different from the Census Bureaus figures because of the categories excluded by NRF. The August NRF numbers build on a 0.6 percent monthly increase and 9.6 percent year-over-year increase in July. NRFs numbers were up 8.5 percent unadjusted year-over-year on a three-month moving average. Just over half of retail categories saw month-over-month gains and two-thirds saw year-over-year increases. The biggest monthly gain came at clothing stores, but their sales remained far below last year. Specifics from key retail sectors during August include: About NRF The National Retail Federation, the worlds largest retail trade association, passionately advocates for the people, brands, policies and ideas that help retail thrive. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., NRF empowers the industry that powers the economy. Retail is the nations largest private-sector employer, contributing $3.9 trillion to annual GDP and supporting one in four U.S. jobs 52 million working Americans. For over a century, NRF has been a voice for every retailer and every retail job, educating, inspiring and communicating the powerful impact retail has on local communities and global economies. PERMALINK

Answer: August Retail Sales Grow as Pandemic Recovery Continues