April Retail Sales

Updated: 14-May-26 09:26 ET

Highlights

• Total retail sales increased 0.5% month-over-month in April ( consensus: 0.4%) following a downwardly revised 1.6% increase (from 1.7%) in March.
• Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.7% month-over-month ( consensus: 0.4%) after increasing 1.9% in March.

Key Factors

• Motor vehicle and parts dealer sales decreased 0.4% following a 0.6% increase in March.
• Gasoline station sales rose 2.8% following a 13.7% increase in March.
• Clothing and clothing accessories stores sales fell 1.5% month-over-month following a 0.5% increase in March.
• Nonstore retailer sales jumped 1.1% after increasing 0.8% in March.Food services and drinking places sales increased 0.6% following a 0.1% increase in March.
• Furniture and home furnishing store sales dropped 2.0% following a 2.6% increase in March.
• General merchandise store sales were up 0.1% month-over-month after increasing 1.1% in March.
• Electronics and appliance store sales increased 1.4% following a 1.3% increase in March.
• Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealer sales edged 0.1% higher after increasing 1.1% in March.

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from the report is that solid spending activity was seen across most retail categories in April, which is when consumers were digesting the gas price shock from the Iran war. Excluding auto and gasoline station sales, retail sales were up 0.5% month-over-month.