NRF: Grocery sales up nearly 5% in August

Grocery and beverage store sales increased 4.9% in August when compared to August 2018, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). But sales were down but down 0.2% from July.

The NRF also announced that overall retail sales were up 0.4% in August when compared to July and up 4.6% when compared to last August.

However, the Trump administration’s tariff war with China could change the continuous sales growth number, the NRF stated.

“While consumer attitudes about the economy indicate some retreating optimism, the bottom line is that consumer spending remained resilient in August and continued to be a key contributor to U.S. economic growth,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “Trends remain strong, but August grew somewhat slower than July, which could reflect consumers’ concerns about the unpredictability of trade policy. It is too early to assess the impact of the new tariffs that took effect at the beginning of this month, but they do present downside risks to household spending.”

The monthly report also found:

• Online and other non-store sales were up 14.3% year-over-year and up 1.6% month-over-month.
• Health and personal care stores were up 2.9% year-over-year and up 0.7% month-over-month.
• Clothing and clothing accessory stores were up 2.3% year-over-year but down 0.9% month-over-month.
• General merchandise stores were up 2.2% year-over-year but down 0.3% month-over-month.
• Electronics and appliance stores were down 2.9% year-over-year and unchanged month-over-month.