In August, household consumption of goods rose by a modest 0.3 percent, consistent with the previous month's growth. The primary factor contributing to this increase was a 0.8 percent increase in food consumption, driven by strong demand for essential commodities, thereby increasing the purchases of a diverse selection of agri-food products.

Conversely, energy consumption experienced a minor decrease, with expenditures on fuel, electricity, and petrol increasing by only 0.2 percent in comparison to the previous month. The complex dynamics of household spending are reflected in the ongoing decline in engineered goods consumption, which fell by minus 0.4 percent, with durable goods such as electronics and appliances experiencing a significant decline by minus 1.5 percent. On the other hand, textile and garment purchases experienced a 1.4 percent rise, indicating a renewed interest in non-durable products.

The overall decline in durable products, particularly capital items such as electronics and furniture which declined by minus 4.2 percent suggests a cautious approach to significant expenditures. However, other engineered goods demonstrated sustained growth, albeit at a modest rate of 0.4 percent. These consumption trends underscore conflicting economic behaviour, as households prioritise food and essentials while reducing their expenditures on larger, long-term purchases. Today's data reduce the RPI to minus 29 and the RPI-P to minus 10, showing overall economic activity falling sightly short of market expectations.

Spending is seen flat on the month after a 0.3 percent increase in July.

Consumption of manufactured goods by consumers is an indicator of consumer spending for household durable goods such as autos and furniture. The data are released separately as part of the report on total goods spending.

This indicator is a measure of retail sales and is unique to France. It measures consumer spending for household durable goods such as autos and furniture. The data are seasonally and workday adjusted. These adjustments eliminate the fluctuations that are solely due to changes in the number of working days. The data appear to be particularly sensitive to the number of worked Saturdays. With consumer spending a large part of the economy, market players continually monitor spending patterns. Retail sales are a measure of consumer well-being.

The pattern in consumer spending is often the foremost influence on stock and bond markets. For stocks, strong economic growth translates to healthy corporate profits and higher stock prices. For bonds, the focus is whether economic growth goes overboard and leads to inflation. Ideally, the economy walks that fine line between strong growth and excessive (inflationary) growth.

Retail sales not only give you a sense of the big picture, but also the trends among different types of retailers. Perhaps auto sales are especially strong or apparel sales are showing exceptional weakness. These trends from the retail sales data can help you spot specific investment opportunities, without having to wait for a company's quarterly or annual report.