Resilient shoppers push retail sales up 0.7% in September

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans continued to spend at a solid clip in September despite rising prices and snarled global supply chains that are limiting the flow of goods.

Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in September from the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday.

Sales at clothing and accessories stores rose 1.1%, while online sales were up 0.6%. Sales at gasoline stations rose1.8%, boosted by higher prices at the pump. Sales at restaurants and bars, many of which believed they were through the worst of the pandemic until the arrival of the delta variant, rose 0.3% from the month before.