Americans cut back sharply on their spending last month amid tariffs
A customer shops for toys at a big box retailer on May 12 in Chicago.
By Bryan Mena, CNN
Washington (CNN) — Americans are feeling a hangover from their tariff-fueled buying frenzy early in the spring.
Retail sales fell by 0.9% in May from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, down sharply from April’s downwardly revised 0.1% decline. That was the steepest monthly decline since January. The figures are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation.
The drop was mostly due to plummeting car sales. Excluding those purchases, retail sales were down a more modest 0.3%.
Early in the spring, Americans rushed to front-load purchases of big-ticket items, especially cars, to beat President Donald Trump’s stiff tariffs. That sent retail sales surging in March, but spending has downshifted markedly since then.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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