{"id":5295,"date":"2026-08-14T19:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T19:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5295"},"modified":"2026-08-14T19:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T19:42:08","slug":"its-not-lights-out-for-the-economy-u-s-retail-sales-drop-0-6-in-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5295","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s not lights out for the economy\u2019: U.S. retail sales drop 0.6% in July"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Retail sales slipped 0.6% last month, the biggest drop since May 2025, from a revised gain of 0.2% in June, according to Commerce Department data released Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5293\">One ticket, one gas station, $1 billion: Powerball\u2019s drought ends in Illinois<\/a><\/p>\n<p>There was a notable bump in spending in both April and May as Americans dipped into their tax refunds. That affect may have faded last month.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Excluding sales at gas stations and at auto dealers, retail sales in July fell 0.2%. Gas prices bounced back in recent weeks in what appears to be a stalemate in the\u00a0Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<p>Gas prices ticked higher overnight to $4.08 per gallon, up from $3.85 a month ago, according to motor club AAA. It is 92 cents more per gallon than Americans were paying last year at this time.<\/p>\n<p>July\u2019s retail sales were dragged down by business at motor vehicle and parts dealers, which saw a 1.8% drop from a 1.9% increase in June. June\u2019s sales were helped by auto makers\u2019 promotion incentives.<\/p>\n<p>Electronics and appliance sales declined 0.5%. Online sales fell 2.2% from June when they were fueled by Amazon\u2019s four-day Prime Day event that began in late June, earlier than previous years.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not lights out for the economy, but new risks are emerging if the consumer pulls their support for economic growth\u201d said Christopher S. Rupkey, at the financial research firm fwdbonds.<\/p>\n<p>The data offers only a snapshot of consumer spending and doesn\u2019t include activities like travel and hotel stays. The lone services category \u2013 restaurants \u2013 registered a 0.5% increase.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>U.S. inflation\u00a0declined slightly\u00a0in July as gas and grocery prices slipped, though inflation is still rising more quickly than before the\u00a0Iran war.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Consumer prices increased\u00a03.4% in July\u00a0from a year ago, down slightly from 3.5% in June, the Labor Department said Wednesday. Inflation had fallen to 2.4% before the Iran war. On a monthly basis, prices rose just 0.1% from June to July.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The modest decline marked the second straight decrease after sharply higher gas prices pushed inflation to 4.2% in May, a three-year high.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5291\">Flock Safety says it will totally be better about (not) giving your license plate to law enforcement<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Yet even with that respite, prices are still rising more quickly than average wages, underscoring the challenges many Americans have had paying for groceries, gas, and healthcare. And some costs continued to climb last month, including airfares, computers, and used cars.<\/p>\n<p>Given such a tough environment, economists are closely watching how families spend during the back-to-school shopping season, the second largest shopping period for retailers after the winter holidays.<\/p>\n<p>Shopping has been steady, though Americans have dialed in on sales as they grow more<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Off-price retailers, consumer electronics and office supply retailers have had a \u201cstrong early start\u201d to the back-to-school season, said Elizabeth Lafontaine, director of research at Placer.ai.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConsumers have looked to take advantage of early deals to check off their lists,\u201d Lafontaine said.<\/p>\n<p>Walmart, Target and other retailers have been pushing discounts for the fall season, seeking to lure inflation-weary shoppers.<\/p>\n<p>Target, for example, says that 95% of prices for school supplies are at or below last year\u2019s levels.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Retailers begin reporting quarterly earnings next week.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen Yalof, CEO of the outlet mall operator Tanger, noted an increase in foot traffic this summer because of the World Cup festivities.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>More Americans were shopping too, Yalof said, because more people are vacationing close to home to save money.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re rewarding with value, and we\u2019re getting customers to come in \u2026 and shop more frequently,\u201d Yalof told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5289\">Facing a decadeslong shortage, the FAA has now hired more than 2,000 air traffic controllers after its campaign recruiting Gen Z video gamers<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There was a notable bump in spending in both April and May as Americans dipped into their tax refunds. That affect may have faded last month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[417],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retail"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018It\u2019s not lights out for the economy\u2019: U.S. retail sales drop 0.6% in July - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5295\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018It\u2019s not lights out for the economy\u2019: U.S. retail sales drop 0.6% in July - Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There was a notable bump in spending in both April and May as Americans dipped into their tax refunds. 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