Total retail sales in February, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were down 0.22% seasonally adjusted month-over-month.
Tariff concerns slowed consumer spending in February compared to January, but retail sales still increased year-over-year during the month.
That’s according to the latest CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions, released today by the National Retail Federation. Total retail sales in February, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were down 0.22% seasonally adjusted month-over-month, but up 3.38% unadjusted year-over-year in February. That compared with a decrease of 1.07% month-over-month and an increase of 5.44% year-over-year in January.
The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales (excluding restaurants in addition to automobile dealers and gasoline stations) was also down 0.22% month-over-month in February but up 4.11% year-over-year. That compared with a decrease of 1.27% month-over-month and an increase of 5.72% year-over-year in January.
“Consumer spending dipped slightly again in February due to the combination of harsh winter weather and declining consumer confidence driven by tariffs, concerns about rising unemployment and policy uncertainty,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Unease about the probability of inflation and paying higher prices for non-discretionary goods has the value-conscious consumer spending less and saving more. But for the moment, year-over-year gains reflect an economy with strong fundamentals.”
Total sales were up 4.41% year-over-year for the first two months of the year and core sales were up 4.91%. That compares with 3.6% growth for the full year in 2024.
The February monthly downturn came after President Donald Trump announced 10% tariffs on goods from China and 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico at the beginning of February. The Canada-Mexico tariffs were immediately delayed by a month, then delayed again for most goods until April 2 last week, but the tariffs on China were doubled to 20%.
https://chainstoreage.com/nrf-february-sales-see-monthly-dip-over-tariff-concern