91ÊÓƵ

NRF data shows that consumer spending accounts for more than 68% of the national gross domestic product, marking the highest proportion in nearly 15 years.

The 2025 Wells Fargo Supply Chain Report confirmed a prevailing belief that businesses were proactive in importing freight to the U.S. in advance of tariffs taking effect earlier this year.

Retailers are expressing optimism about the resilience of U.S. consumers, a sentiment that could soon be put to the test as tariff-fueled price hikes increasingly show up on shelves.

Retail sales rose 0.5% last month, a slowdown from a revised 0.9% in June, according to the Commerce Department’s report released Aug. 15.

The returns process is costly. When factoring in every step a retailer goes through to ship, return and reship items, each transaction influences a retailer’s time, money and product waste.

Retail sales fell sharply in May as consumers pulled back after a sharp increase in spending in March to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on nearly all imports.

U.S. shoppers stepped up their shopping last month, fueled by a spending spree on big-ticket items, particularly cars, before President Donald Trump’s expansive new tariffs kicked in.

American consumers wrapped up the year in a spending mood, buying all sorts of merchandise from furniture to clothing and eating out at restaurants, according to the government.

Value was in vogue in 2024. Shoppers and restaurant patrons in the U.S. were choosy about where and how to spend their money as they wrestled with high housing and food prices.

Sales rose this year during the holiday shopping season even as Americans wrestled with elevated prices for many groceries and other necessities, according to new data.