Table of Contents
NEW YORK — Retailers said sales increased in August, buoyed by back-to-school shopping and a more upbeat consumer.
Retailers said sales increased in August, buoyed by back-to-school shopping and a more upbeat consumer.
Retail spending growth in August was the strongest in 13 months, according to First Data Corp., an electronic payments processor.
Increased consumer spending is consistent with recent improvements in other economic indicators, including gains in employment and demand for consumer debt, economists said.
Average sales growth at nine U.S. retailers, including Costco Wholesale Corp. and Rite Aid Corp., beat expectations in August, according to the Thomson Reuters same-store sales index. Sales at established stores rose an average of 5%, exceeding the 3.9% analysts had been expecting and the 3.3% increase from the previous August.
The National Retail Federation calculates that August sales at retailers — excluding auto dealerships, gas stations and restaurants — increased a seasonably adjusted 0.5% from July, with gains in all retail categories except general merchandise stores.
Many retailers no longer report monthly metrics, making it hard to monitor short-term fluctuations in the sector.
Costco, one of the retailers still reporting monthly sales data, said sales at U.S. stores open at least a year climbed 7% in August. The company said comparable-store sales in food and sundries rose "in the mid- to high-single-digit range," with the strongest results in cooler, deli and candy. In hard lines, Costco said its best-performing departments in August were hardware, office, tires and sporting goods.
Rite Aid said same-store sales were up 3.9% in August. Front-end same-store sales rose 1.1% in the period, and pharmacy same-store sales increased 5.2%.
Walgreen Co. said August sales rose 3.6% to nearly $6.2 billion. Sales at stores open a least a year rose 3.7%. Front-end comparable-store sales were up 1.4%, despite a 1.7% decline in customer traffic. Walgreens said basket size increased in the period by 3.1%.
The Deerfield, Ill.-based company said pharmacy sales in August increased by 5.4%, and accounted for 65.7% of total sales.
