Countering economists expectations that there would be a pullback, American consumer spending increased in September despite concerns about the spreading coronavirus delta variant and supply chain problems, the Washington Post reports.
Month-over-month retail sales increased 0.07% to $625.4 billion according to the US Census Bureau, amounting to a 14% increase over September 2020. Perhaps in a sign of new-found freedom thanks to the wide distribution of vaccines, sales were up 3.7 percent in hobby, music and sports stores. Spending at gas stations was up more than 38 percent compared to the same period in 2020, and spending at bars and restaurants was up nearly 30 percent compared to last year.
“As the economy continues to recover from covid-related restrictions, the rising vaccination rates may spur the confidence consumers need to celebrate the approaching holidays at in-person gatherings,” Marwan Forzley, chief executive of Veem, a payments platform that works with thousands of U.S. retailers, said Friday in comments emailed to The Post. “Consumer appetite looks promising as more and more individuals feel comfortable with retail shopping and dining at restaurants and bars, and we can expect this to continue into the winter months.”