- Prelim was +0.6%
- August preliminary +0.5%
- Ex-autos +0.4% vs +0.3% expected
- Prior ex-autos +0.3%
- Sales were up in seven of nine subsectors
- Ex-autos and gas +0.6%
These numbers are a surprise, especially the August preliminary data, which runs opposite to what RBC cardholder data has been showing.
For July, new car sales rose 2.2% and that drove much of the beat but it certainly wasn't the whole story as core sales rose 0.6% with food and beverage retailers up 0.8%, led by a 1.2% rise in supermarkets. Clothing also rose 1.1%. The laggard continues to be anything housing-related with building materials down 1.4%.
Other categories:
- Furniture, electronics and appliances: +0.2%
- General merchandise retailers: +0.8%
- Health and personal care retailers: +1.2%
- Gasoline stations and fuel vendors: -0.6%
- Sporting goods, hobby, book, and miscellaneous: 0.0%
Year-over-year changes (unadjusted for inflation):
- Total retail trade: +0.9%
- Motor vehicle and parts dealers: +1.2%
- Building material and garden equipment: -4.2%
- Food and beverage retailers: +0.2%
- Furniture, electronics and appliances: -2.8%
- General merchandise retailers: +3.8%
- Health and personal care retailers: +5.8%
- Gasoline stations and fuel vendors: +2.8%
- Clothing and accessories retailers: +0.2%
- Sporting goods, hobby, book, and miscellaneous: -4.9%
