Retail sales slowed in April as Trump’s tariffs weighed on US consumers who pulled forward spending on some key categories into March ahead of these levies.
Headline retail sales rose 0.1% in April, slightly above economists’ expectations for sales to be flat month on month and well below the 1.7% increase seen in March, according to Census Bureau data.
The control group in Thursday’s release, which excludes several volatile categories and factors into the gross domestic product (GDP) reading for the quarter, fell 0.2%; control group sales had risen 0.5% in March. Economists expected a 0.3% increase.
March sales excluding auto and gas rose 0.2%, below consensus estimates for a 0.3% increase and a move lower from the 1.1% increase seen the month prior.
A 2.5% drop in sales at sporting goods and hobby stores led the declines, while sales at department stores fell 1.4%. Specialized retailers also saw a 2.1% decline last month.
April’s data follows a large increase in March, when sales rose by the most in more than two years as consumers snatched up goods before a large part of Trump’s tariffs were set to be implemented.
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump’s tariffs
Thursday’s reading covers the month of April, during which Trump pushed tariffs to their highest level in more than a century before pausing a wide array of “reciprocal” tariffs on goods from most countries, excluding China. The data does not cover any activity since the US and China agreed to a 90-day tariff pause earlier this week.
While tariffs have appeared to impact spending over the past two months, their influence on other economic data has yet to fully materialize.
On Thursday, a reading of wholesale inflation showed “core” producer prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, decreased 0.4% over the prior month. This follows a report from earlier in the week that showed consumer prices fell to their lowest level in more than four years during April.
Still, economists believe tariffs will eventually lead to higher prices for American consumers later this year and likely weigh on spending.
Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
“There are signs that the underlying trend in spending is slowing,” Oxford Economics deputy chief US economist Michael Pearce wrote in a note to clients on Thursday.
“Retail spending will weaken in the months ahead, first as a natural hangover from the front-loading, and then as a broader slowdown in response to tariff-fueled price increases.”
Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.
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