NEW YORK (AP) -- A new report shows American shoppers dug in their heels in July.
Excluding gasoline and autos, U.S. retail sales rose a meager 0.1 percent last month from June, according to figures released Thursday by MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse, which estimates spending in all forms including cash.
Excluding autos but including gasoline, sales fell 0.9 percent.
The tepid month-to-month increase follows a 0.5 percent decline from May to June and a 2.1 percent drop from April to May.
Compared with a year earlier, however, July sales excluding autos and gasoline rose a full percentage point. Including gasoline, the month's sales rose still more from July 2009.
The Commerce Department releases its July spending figures Friday.
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