There were $683.3 billion in retail and food service sales in August, an increase of 0.3 from the previous month and 9.1% above the previous year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Core retail sales—excluding automobiles and gasoline—increased 0.3 % from the previous month and 7.6% from the previous year.
Retail trade sales were up 0.2% from August 2022, and up 8.9% above last year. Gasoline stations were up 29.3% from August 2021, while food services and drinking places were up 10.9% from last year.
Read the Census release.