The Census Bureau said retail sales, including clothing, for April experienced a marginal seasonally adjusted increase of 0.1% from the previous month, while showing a significant unadjusted rise of 5.2% compared to the same period last year.
This performance is in line with March’s figures, which also saw retail sales climb by 1.7% month over month and 5.2% year over year.
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National Retail Federation (NRF) chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said: “Consumers are still spending despite widespread pessimism fuelled by rising tariffs. While tariffs may have weighed on spending decisions, growth is coming at a moderate pace and consumer spending remains steady, reflecting a resilient economy. The momentum and willingness to spend is being supported by positive data on jobs and wages along with lower energy prices.”
The NRF’s calculation of core retail sales, excluding sales from auto dealerships, gas stations, and restaurants, showed a slight seasonally adjusted decline of 0.1% but revealed an unadjusted annual increase of 5.1%.
Moreover, when averaged over three months, core sales reflected a year-over-year growth of 3.4%, with a 3.8% rise for the year’s first four months.
Contrastingly, the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions, reported that core retail sales in April actually saw a seasonally adjusted monthly increase of 0.9% and an unadjusted annual surge of 7.11%. These figures surpassed those of March, which had month-over-month growth of 0.4% and an annual rise of 5.07%.
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