US Food Services Sales Rise 0.5% to $107.18 Billion as Overall Retail Falls 0.6%

3 articles · Updated · businessupturn.com · Aug 14

$107.18 billion in July food services and drinking places sales marked a 0.5% monthly gain and a 5.0% rise from a year earlier, bucking a 0.6% drop in total retail and food services sales.
Restaurant and bar spending is closely watched as a discretionary-demand gauge because households typically cut meals out early when budgets tighten; July's increase suggests consumers still spent on convenience and experiences.
The strength was not a one-month anomaly: food services sales were up 4.7% year on year over May through July, reinforcing a picture of steady demand rather than a broader pullback.
July's wider retail mix pointed more to spending reallocation than retrenchment, with weakness in autos, gasoline and online sales offset by firmer services, clothing and health products.