Home Sector is Bright Spot in Retail Sales

New York, NY, Sept. 6, 2013 -- Most retailers reported tepid sales in August although consumers appeared to be more drawn to big-ticket items such as furniture and building supplies.

The nine retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters reported 2.9% growth in August same-store sales.

Economists were looking for growth of 3.2%. Growth a year ago came in at 6.5%.

The pent-up demand for retail sales is in the home sector, so that's where some of the money was going, Barbara Kahn, director of the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School told the Wall Street Journal.