Apr 16, 2025 - Business

Retail sales soared in March in pre-tariff spending binge

Courtenay Brown

New Nissan cars are driven onto a rail car to be transported from an automobile processing terminal located at the Port of Los Angeles — New Nissan cars being transported from an automobile processing terminal at the Port of Los Angeles. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Retail sales surged 1.4% in March — the biggest monthly jump in two years after back-to-back months of weak consumer spending, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Economists say consumers rushed to make purchases before Trump's broadest tariffs took effect and potentially raised prices for goods.

The strong spending data defies gloomy economic messages in consumer sentiment surveys that suggest a shopping pullback.

The big picture: Retail sales had been weak in 2025, with a slight increase of 0.2% in February and a drop of 1.4% the previous month.

By the numbers: Retail sales, which are not adjusted for inflation, got a huge boost from auto sales which surged 5.3% in March.

Excluding those purchases, overall retail sales rose just 0.5%.

Zoom in: Consumers splurged at building material shops (+3%), hobby stores (+2%) and restaurants and bars (+2%).

Sales at gasoline stations fell 2.5% as pump prices dropped. Consumers pulled back in just two other retail categories: furniture stores (-0.7%) and department stores (-0.3%).

What they're saying: "The spending that households were able to pull forward into March to avoid tariffs suggests that consumer balance sheets were healthy," economists at Morgan Stanley wrote in a client note ahead of the data.

"However, we expect a significant slowdown in real consumption growth later this year as tariff-related price increases weigh on purchasing power and as labor income growth slows," they add.

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Retail sales soared in March in pre-tariff spending binge

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