Despite signs that the economy is coming out of a recession, consumers remain reluctant to spend money.
Retail sales fell a bit last month and are still below the sluggish levels they were at this time last year.
Retail sales fell 0.1% in July, following a 0.6% increase in June. Last month's figures were 9.4% below July 2008. From May to July, retail sales were down 9.6% from the same period last year.
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Total retail and food sales in July were $342.3 billion, compared with $342.5 billion in June.
July's numbers showed a 0.6% decline in nonautomobile sales, but that number represented an 8.9% drop from July 2008.
There was a 2.4% increase in automobile sales from June-fueled in part by the government's Cash for Clunkers program-but it still represented a 14.3% decline from June 2008.
Health and personal care stores had a 0.7% increase; clothing stores a 0.6% increase, restaurants and bars, a 0.4% increase and Internet and mail order retailers, a 0.1% boost.
Sectors that saw declines included building supply stores and gasoline stations, 2.1%, sporting goods stores, 1.9%, department stores, 1.6% and electronics stores, 1.4%.
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