{
  "id": 564005,
  "title": "BofA forecasts July retail sales drop of 0.4% on Prime Day shift",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/bofa-forecasts-july-retail-sales-drop-of-0-4-on-prime-day-shift",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-11T12:33:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Investing.com",
    "slug": "investing-com",
    "url": "https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/bofa-forecasts-july-retail-sales-drop-of-04-on-prime-day-shift-93CH-4851585"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bank of America predicts a 0.4% decline in July retail sales, excluding automotive sales, due to Amazon's Prime Day being moved from July to June. The bank projects a 0.6% decline for the control group, which excludes autos, gas, building materials, and restaurants. Online retail sales dropped sharply after Prime Day and related promotions moved to June, with various retail categories experiencing monthly declines, including clothing, gas, and furniture. Contributing factors to the July weakness include a heat wave around the Fourth of July weekend and the post-World Cup effect, ending on July 19. July's spending slowdown was widespread across categories. The bank noted that June retail sales were worse than forecast based on card data, potentially reducing the downside risk for the July Census Bureau report. Bank of America emphasized that July's weakness was temporary, not a sustained trend, despite strong real consumer spending growth of 3.2% quarter-over-quarter in the second quarter GDP report. Low unemployment, stock markets at all-time highs, and falling gas prices supported consumer health. Lower-income households showed stronger spending growth in discretionary categories compared to higher-income households.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Bank of America forecasts 0.4% July retail sales drop.",
    "Amazon Prime Day shift to June causes decline.",
    "Heat wave and post-World Cup effect contribute to weakness."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The shift of Amazon's Prime Day to June, rather than July, means that this month's retail sales will look weak compared to last year, but Bank of America sees the slowdown as temporary.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Seeking Alpha News",
        "title": "Existing home sales fall less than expected in July",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/existing-home-sales-fall-less-than-expected-in-july",
        "published": "2026-08-11T14:03:11.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}