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Consumers shopping more and that's a good omen as holiday season looms

Consumers are spending more thanks to lower gas prices, increased hiring and wages.

September 29, 2015

Consumer retail spending, from home appliances to personal care needs, helped spur economic growth in August, with a .4 percent boost over July, according to figures from the Commerce Department.

July brought the same level increase over June and analysts credit a decreasing unemployment rate, wage increases, lower gas prices and continued hiring. It didn’t hurt that consumer’s personal income grew 0.3 percent in August, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

"The reality is real consumer spending growth has settled into a nice groove," Richard Moody, chief economist at Regions Financial Corp., told the WSJ. "Further job and income gains along with muted inflation will ensure this growth continues in the quarters ahead."

Going forward economic growth is expected to stay on the positive side, with estimates ranging from 2 percent to 2.9 percent.

"Declining energy prices have been a big support, and that was a big windfall for consumers," Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York told Bloomberg. "We’ve been growing above trend, and we think that’ll probably continue for at least the third and fourth quarters."