American shoppers shrug off Delta wave as retail sales trounce expectations, rising to $625 billion in September
Spending at US retailers and restaurants unexpectedly bounced up in September as the Delta wave hit its peak and started to ease.
Retail sales rose 0.7% last month to $625 billion, the Census Bureau said Friday morning. That exceeded the median estimate of a 0.2% decline from economists surveyed by Bloomberg. It also marks a continuation from the 0.9% jump seen in August. That month's count was revised to $621 billion in sales to $619 billion.Though sales have steadily declined in recent months, spending remains healthily above the trend seen before the pandemic. Much of the boost was powered by the $5 trillion in stimulus passed by President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden since the crisis began.
Spending rose the most at sports goods and hobby stores, with the sector seeing a 3.7% jump in sales. The merchandise and gas-station sectors followed with 2% and 1.8% gains, respectively. Other businesses fared worse. Health and personal care stores saw spending slide 1.4% last month, the most of any category. Electronics and appliance stores followed with a 0.9% slide in sales.Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know.
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