U.S. retail sales rise in September as consumers spend more on goods

Despite supply chain shortages and inflation , U.S. consumer spending shifted back toward goods amid concerns about COVID-19 virus variants , with retail sales increasing again in September, according to the National Retail Federation ( NRF ) .

According to the U.S. Census Bureau , overall retail sales in September rose 0.7% from August on a seasonally adjusted basis and increased 13.9% year-over-year. This compares to a monthly increase of 0.9% in August and an annual increase of 15.4%.

Meanwhile, despite occasional month-over-month declines , sales have increased year-over-year every month since June 2020, according to the Census Bureau .

According to the NRF's statistics on retail sales ( excluding auto dealers , gas stations and restaurants , etc. ), September's seasonally adjusted data increased by 0.7% from August, and the unadjusted data for September increased by 11% year-on-year. In contrast, the monthly increase in August was 2.4%, and the annual increase was 12.2%. The NRF data , calculated on an unadjusted basis on a three-month moving average, increased by 10.7% year-on-year .

For the first nine months of this year, NRF tallied sales that were 14.5% higher than the same period in 2020. That's consistent with NRF's revised forecast that retail sales in 2021 should rise 10.5% to 13.5% from 2020, to between $4.44 trillion and $4.56 trillion.

According to statistics, sales in September increased in all categories except two, and achieved overall year-on-year growth driven by growth in physical stores of clothing , electronics and daily necessities . Specific data for key departments are as follows:

Sales at clothing and clothing accessories stores rose 1.1% on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis and 22.5% on an unadjusted annual basis .

Electronics and appliance stores fell 0.9% month-on-month and increased 17.3% year-on-year ;

Ø General merchandise stores increased by 2% month-on-month and 14.1% year-on-year when not adjusted;

Furniture and home furnishings stores grew 0.2% month-on-month and 13.7% year-on-year .

Sporting goods stores grew 3.7% month-over-month and 13% year-over-year on an unadjusted basis .

Online and other non-store sales increased 0.6% month-on-month and 10.5% year-on-year on an unadjusted basis.

Grocery and beverage stores grew 0.7% month-over-month and 7.4% year-over-year on an unadjusted basis .

Health and personal care stores fell 1.4% monthly , but were up 6.9% year -over-year on an unadjusted basis .

Building materials and garden supply stores increased 0.1% month-on-month and 6.2% year -on-year on an unadjusted basis .

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