Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced that consumer spending on retail sales, which includes spending at stores, websites and restaurants, rose 0.5 percent in June from May’s figure, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Consumer spending, contributes more than two-thirds to the total U.S. economic output, the Journal reports.
Increased vehicle sales and high gas prices helped bolster Americans’ spending in June.
Department stores face fierce online competition and spending at these retail locations dipped 1.8 percent, making it the largest decline in more than two years, the article says.
Consumer spending has been on an upward trend in recent months, the Journal reports. Retail sales in the second quarter of 2018 grew nearly 6 percent from the second quarter of 2017. The article cites recent tax cuts and June’s 4 percent unemployment rate as two reasons why consumers are spending more this summer.
