August retail sales saw annual gains, according to data issued this week by the United States Department of Commerce and the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Commerce reported that August retail sales were up 0.4% annually, to $526.1 billion, and were up 0.8% over July’s $524.2 billion. And it added that total retail sales from June through August headed up 3.7% compared to the same period a year ago.
Retail trade sales were up 4.6% annually, and non-store retailers (which is largely comprised of e-commerce sales) saw a 16% increase.