A rise in sales last month is giving retailers hope for a robust holiday shopping season, CNNMoney.com reported.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said retail sales were up 0.6 percent to $367.7 billion in September from August, which was better than Briefing.com economists’ expectations of a 0.4 percent increase.

Cars, electronics and online stores led the September rise, as auto and other motor vehicle dealers posted a 1.6 percent increase from August and a 19 percent jump from the year-earlier period.

Electronics stores reported a 1.5 percent increase in September from August while online sales were up by 1 percent.

Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is considered a major indicator of the economy’s overall strength.

“Overall this is a significantly stronger report than expected,” said Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency Economics.

Same-store sales have risen for 13 consecutive months, according to Thomason Reuters, which tracks same-store sales for a group of 28 national retail chains. It said total sales for that group rose 2.8 percent in September.

Retail sales in August rose by a revised 0.7 percent from the prior month.

“It is increasingly clear that we are seeing ‘frugal fatigue’ give way to ‘calculated consumption,'” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group.