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Americans have been heading back to the shops in recent months and aren't coming home empty-handed. Retail spending enjoyed its best two-month stretch in at least two years in October.
Retail sales—which includes spending at restaurants, clothing retailers, online retailers, and more—grew 0.8% in October and 1% in September, the Commerce Department announced Tuesday, marking a much needed boost for retailers. Experts say a strengthening consumer is pushing sales thanks to rising wages and low unemployment, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Car sales accounted for a large chunk of last month’s growth, followed by an increase in construction materials, healthcare products and grocery spending. Still, not every retailer is benefiting—furniture stores, restaurants and department stores watched their sales fall during the period. [WSJ]
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