Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Commerce Department Wednesday reported July retail sales stayed steady but missed expectations. 

• Core sales, which don’t include sales of gas, cars, building materials, or food services in order to get a closer reading of gross domestic product, rose .1% last month, while expectations by economists ahead of the report were for a .2% rise.

• Clothing sales rose .4%, sporting goods sales rose .2%, and building materials and garden sales rose .2%, while electronics and appliances sales and overall online retail sales fell .1%.

Dive Insight:

Auto sales were a large part of this story, dragging down retail sales numbers now for three months in a row and leading to worries about slowing economic momentum. It’s not like the momentum so far has been strong, though; consumers are still hesitant, but have been for a while now. It’s this kind of report that has led many to say we’re in a “retail funk.” More people need jobs, and decent paying ones, for real improvements to take hold, many economists say.