Retail Sales Stalled in July After Solid Gains

(CN) - U.S. retail sales stalled in July, following three months of solid gains, the Commerce Department said Friday.

According to the government, there was little change in retail sales numbers last month, after a gain of 0.8 percent in June.

Analysts responded to the report with disappointment, but said one report is just that one report and not a signal that the economy is abruptly slowing down.

Sales at retailers and restaurants held roughly steady at a seasonally adjusted $457.73 billion last month.

But Friday's report also showed relatively strong sales at auto dealers and non-store retailers like Amazon.com and catalog companies.

Sales at auto and parts dealers rose 1.1% in July, while non-store retailers posted a 1.3% gain, the Commerce Department said.

Department store sales fell 0.5% as American consumers continued to shift their spending from brick-and-mortar retailers to online shopping.