Retail sales marked a new peak last month, one more sign of the nation’s post-covid resilience, according to the Commerce Department.
Compared with September of last year, retail sales posted a 13.9% gain last month, for a total dollar worth of $625.4 billion.
That figure is significantly up over the summer of 2020, just months after the covid onset and national economic shutdown, when it dropped to just over $400 billion.
In addition, retail sales for the first week of October were up by 8.8% compared with the September average.
The strong September numbers prompted the financial analysis service IHS Markit to raise its economic growth forecasts to 1.6% for July to September, and a markedly larger 5.1% for the final quarter of this year.
A number of factors are leading to predictions of a more robust end-of-year spending, with the Commerce Department noting that American households are currently sitting on about $1.6 trillion in savings, the result of several rounds of federal stimulus checks.
Those savings are well above pre-covid levels, says the Commerce Department.
The publication Investors Observer has noted that sales in September were particularly up in merchandise stores, as well as “sporting goods, hobby, musical instruction, and bookstore sales.”
Health and personal care stores saw a 1.4% decline in sales, followed by the electronics and appliances store sector, which was off by 0.9%.
In an interview with Retail Dive, Neil Saunders, managing director of Global Data, noted that an increase in sales earlier this year was attributable to home improvement purchases. “Now a greater emphasis is being placed on personal indulgences in the form of apparel, beauty and accessories.”
Added Saunders: “This is aided by the fact that people are socializing and leaving their homes more than they did last year.”
Notes the site Yahoo Finance: A “surge in retail sales is a positive indicator ahead of the holiday season, especially when the industry is currently dealing with supply chain woes, rising freight charges and labor shortages.”
By Garry Boulard
