Sales at furniture and home furnishings stores slipped in August to $8.58 billion, down 0.8% from the month before, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported.

　　The moved down follows a 0.8% increase in July furniture sales over June. Despite the recent dip, August sales managed a 3.7% increase over revised August 2014 sales of $8.28 billion.

　　Total U.S. retail and food services sales in August increased an estimated 0.2% in August over July to $447.7 billion, and were up 2.2% from August 2014.

　　Furniture was among the weakest categories, along with building materials and garden equipment and supplies dealers, down 1.8% from July; and gas stations, also down 1.8%. The department stores sector was the only other subcategory showing a decrease from July, with sales down 0.2%.

　　Non-store retailers — primarily e-commerce and catalog businesses — grew sales in August by an estimated 0.2% compared to the month before and were up 6.9% over August a year ago. Electronics and appliance stores also saw a 0.2% increase over July, but were down 2.5% from August 2014.

　　In a Reuters report, BNP Paribas economist Laura Rosner, called the overall report “positive news for final demand in the third quarter and should give the Fed more confidence in the spending outlook.”