The U.S. Census Bureau confirmed that retail sales in August were up 0.3 percent from July and 9.1 percent from the corresponding month in 2021.  This data is supported by the National Retail Federation that recorded a 0.1 percent increase in core retail sales in August over July and up 8 percent from August 2021.  Core retail spending excludes automobiles, gasoline and restaurants.  Grocery and beverage sales were up by 0.5 percent month-over-month and 8 percent year-over-year.  General merchandise was up 0.5 percent, health and personal care sales down 0.6 percent and online and non-store sales down 0.7 percent between July and August but up 12.3 percent from August 2021.

It may be presumed that consumers are becoming more selective in their purchases and making trade-offs at the shelf on the basis of price and need, as noted in previous postings on EGG-NEWS.