Consumers Pull Back in April after Buying Spree in March
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Broad-based weakening in retail sales in April followed an upwardly revised increase to an already solid rise in March, suggesting consumers pulled purchases forward ahead of widely anticipated tariff-driven price increases.

Consumers Pull Back in April after Buying Spree in March

May 15, 2025

Broad-based weakening in retail sales in April followed an upwardly revised increase to an already solid rise in March, suggesting consumers pulled purchases forward ahead of widely anticipated tariff-driven price increases.

Figure 1.  Retail Sales Lull after March Jump

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Sources: Census Bureau, Haver Analytics, The Conference Board, 2025

Trusted Insights for What’s Ahead®

  • Consistent with our latest projections, the latest data point to significant weakening in consumer spending in the current quarter relative to a solid pace in Q1. We estimate real consumer spending growth will slow to around 2.4% in 2025 down from 2.8% last year.
  • A tepid rise in retail sales in April followed an upwardly revised jump in retail sales in March. A sharp pull-back in consumer purchases growth was evident across major categories of goods – autos, clothing, electronics, building materials and sporting goods.
  • The data likely signals that consumers will remain cautious in the coming months as they adapt to tariff
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Author

Yelena Shulyatyeva

Yelena Shulyatyeva

Senior US Economist

Read BioYelena Shulyatyeva

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