US March retail sales surged as consumers sought to beat tariffs

People shop at a grocery store in Brooklyn on July 11, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by SPENCER PLATT / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

WASHINGTON, United States — US retail sales jumped in March, according to government data published Wednesday, powered by the auto sector as consumers rushed to buy goods before new tariffs kicked in.

Overall sales grew 1.4 percent last month to $734.9 billion, the commerce department said in a statement. That was slightly above market expectations of a 1.3-percent rise, according to Briefing.com.

The data covered the period immediately before US President Donald Trump’s steep new levies on trading partners came into effect, unleashing volatility in the financial markets.

Days later, Trump abruptly and temporarily rolled back the import tariffs to 10 percent for many countries, while sharply hiking them for China, the world’s second-largest economy.

Tariffs were likely top of mind for consumers, whose spending at motor vehicles and parts dealers rose 5.3 percent from a month earlier.

Dining out

Spending at restaurants and bars increased by 1.8 percent from February.

“Consumers have to have willingness to buy, and the ability,” Allianz Trade North America senior economist Dan North told AFP.

“The ability is provided by disposable income, and that’s slowing down as well. So the outlook after this month isn’t particularly encouraging,” he said.

Consumers are an important driver of the world’s biggest economy, and spending has been supported by wage growth and a robust jobs market even as households drew down on savings from the Covid-19 pandemic.

But consumer confidence has tanked in recent weeks, surveys showed, as people fretted about the effects of President Trump’s new tariffs.

“Faced with extreme uncertainty, consumers rushed to buy durable goods in March to avoid price hikes from steep tariff increases,” EY senior economist Lydia Boussour wrote in a note to clients.

“But with the economy set to cool sharply in the coming months as tariffs take their toll, price-sensitive consumers are poised to become more judicious with their spending and reduce their non-essential purchases,” she added.