Consumer spending on apparel and footwear increased by 1.6% in July, according to revised figures released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. This is the smallest increase in the combined category in the past 14 months.
Spending growth on apparel lagged far behind total consumer spending on goods and services, which grew by 4.5% on a 12-month smoothed basis.
Although consumption of apparel alone edged up by 1.8%, its best showing in six months, footwear spending slowed dramatically, to an increase of only 1.3%, after spending many months at growth levels between 3 percent and 4 percent.
