IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Fears about the economy caused retail sales to fall last month, according to the National Retail Federation.
Total retail sales – not counting automobiles and gasoline – were down 0.3 percent between May and June, but were up 3.1 year-over-year in June, the Washington, D.C.-based trade association reported recently.
That compared with increases of 0.5 percent month-over-month and 4.4 percent year-over-year. In May.
The month-over month numbers take into account seasonal factors that normally affect consumer spending. The year-over-year numbers do not.
“June’s numbers indicate that prolonged uncertainty surrounding the economy, tariffs and trade policy could be pushing consumers to adopt a ‘wait-and-see’ approach with their household budgets, said Matthew Shay, the federation’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
