The Commerce Department said retail sales were virtually unchanged in July after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.8 percent in June.
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Sales edged down 0.3% when auto sales are excluded and down 0.1% when auto and fuel sales are excluded.
From a year earlier, total retail sales were up 2.3%.
United States retail sales decelerated their growth in July, official data showed on Friday.
It isn’t clear how much longer auto sales can support overall consumer spending.
The flat retail sales came despite a jump in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, which surged up by 1.1 percent in July after rising by 0.5 percent in June.
This mid-summer retail sales report has a couple key stories to tell: When Americans are buying, many are saving their dollars to buy cars, and they’re buying a lot of the other stuff online.
Sales of food and beverages at grocery stores declined 0.6 percent. American consumers have been shifting their spending from brick-and-mortar retailers to online shopping. Gasoline prices rose slightly in June but fell in July and remain at multiyear lows.
Gasoline service station receipts dropped 2.7 percent, while sales weakened at sporting goods and hobby outlets, department stores, clothing merchants and restaurants.
“Retail sales stalling despite further improvements being recorded in the U.S. jobs market is going to lead to some anxieties over possible slowing domestic growth in the US”. But the monthly figures are closely watched as a gauge of consumer sentiment and broader economic health.
Friday’s data suggested consumer spending was cooling after the second quarter’s brisk 4.2 percent rate of increase.
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Last week, the Labor Department said private- and public-sector employers added 255,000 net new jobs in July.
