If American consumers are concerned about tariffs or the state of the U.S. economy, it’s apparently not affecting their spending.
After pulling back earlier in the year, consumers picked it back up last month. The Commerce Department said Thursday that retail sales rose 0.6% in June after a 0.1% pullback in April and a 0.9% slowdown in May.
The erratic spending is taking place during a period of mixed signals about the economy as well, The Associated Press reported. The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.5% annual pace in the first quarter of 2025. while the U.S. job market has shown itself to be resilient and the major tariffs President Donald Trump keeps threatening keep getting delayed.
Americans continue to spend in that environment with a heavy focus on necessities, rather than electronics or new appliances, according to the AP report.
“Consumers are only feeling a modest amount of pressure from tariffs, and any weakness here is not having much of an effect in forcing them to pull back on more discretionary areas of spending such as restaurants and bars,” wrote William Blair’s macro analyst Richard de Chazal, according to the AP.
Retail sales in June included a 1.2% gain in sales of autos and auto parts, with spending expanding across most major categories including clothing and personal care. Excluding autos and automotive parts, sales rose 0.5%, according to the Commerce Department.
Clothing and accessories sales rose 0.9%, while health and personal care sales saw a 0.5% bump. Online retailers recorded a 0.4% gain.
Electronics and appliance retailers, furniture stores and department stores all saw sales declines.
Heather Long, the chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told the AP that layoffs remain low and consumers are still confident enough that the economy is chugging along.
“Don’t count the American consumer out yet,” said Long in a statement. “There’s still a lot of trepidation about tariffs and likely price hikes, but consumers are willing to buy if they feel they can get a good deal. The word of the summer for the economy is resilient.”
