“He (or she) who hesitates …” is a shopper trying to make sense of the ongoing economic tumult being caused by the Trump administration’s see-saw tariffs strategy. That reality is reflected in the total U.S. retail sales figures in the just-released CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor for June, which showed their first monthly decline since February.
Specifically, that report showed total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were down 0.33% seasonally adjusted month over month but up 3.19% unadjusted year over year in June. That compared with increases of 0.49% month over month and 4.44% year over year in May.
“June’s numbers indicate that prolonged uncertainty surrounding the economy, tariffs and trade policy could be pushing consumers to adopt a ‘wait-and-see’ approach with their household budgets,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “This was the first monthly decline since February, and spending was down across almost all sectors. Economic fundamentals haven’t been disrupted yet and shoppers still have the ability to spend on priorities, but the economy is gradually slowing and there has been an impact on the psyche of consumers. While passage of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is clearly supportive of economic growth, unresolved and restrictive trade policies remain a significant headwind.”
Click here for more from the June Retail Monitor, including details on which sectors lost sales and which gained.
