Retail Sales See August Uptick.

Byline: Liza Casabona With contributions from Evan Clark

Retail Sales See August Uptick

WASHINGTON

Strong back-to-school shopping and heavy discounting helped propel slightly better-than-expected retail sales in August.

But sales were uneven and illustrated how sluggish the economic recovery is. Retail apparel sales increased in August compared with July, while in yearly comparisons, specialty store receipts increased and department stores struggled to top last year's sales levels.

"The consumer is not functioning on all cylinders," said Kevin Regan, senior managing director and retail industry expert with FTI Consulting.

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