Retail sales in grocery and beverage stores fell 0.13% month over month in June.
Retail sales slipped in June — the first monthly decline since February — amid “prolonged uncertainty” surrounding the economy, tariffs and trade policy.
Core retail sales (excluding restaurants, automobile dealers and gasoline stations) fell 0.32% month over month in June, according to the CNBC/Retail Monitor released by the National Retail Federation. Core sales were up 3.36% year over year. (The Retail Monitor uses actual, anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions.)
Sales were down month-over-month in June in all but one category: digital products such as electronic books and games.
Total retail sales (including restaurants but excluding automobiles and gasoline) were down 0.33% month over month in June, but up 3.19% year over year.
[READ MORE: Survey: Majority of Americans think tariffs are hurting economy]
For the first six months of the year, total sales rose 4.66% year over year and core sales were up 4.93%. The month-over-month drops were the first since February, when total and core sales both fell 0.22% from January.