Retail Is Coming On Strong: What’s Trending Now

The news just broke that American retail is back with a vengeance. Through July 2018, retail and food service sales have topped 5.5% over last year , according to the Census Department’s Advanced Monthly Retail and Food Services Sales report. The Wall Street Journal credited wage growth and improved job prospects as giving American shoppers renewed confidence to spend. “The robust U.S. economy is spurring people to shop,” it reports. At the same time, the University of Michigan just announced that consumers’ sentiment of buying conditions backtracked in August, declining to last Septembers’ level based on its Survey of Consumers. Their worries about inflation are threatening to put the brakes on spending through the rest of the year. Read more at Forbes.