Americans Are Spending More, Getting Less, & Borrowing More To Pay For It
American consumers are spending more, getting less, and borrowing more to fund this involuntary spending spree.
Retail sales in March were 7% higher than they were in the stimulus-fueled March of 2021, but thanks to inflation, they didn’t get as much bang for their buck.
Seasonally adjusted, retail sales were up 0.5% month-on-month in March at $677 billion.
As WolfStreet put it, “Stimulus Miracle March 2021 was a very tough month to beat. But Americans did blow by it. What they didn’t do is blow by the now raging inflation.”
Unsurprisingly, higher gasoline prices accounted for the bulk of that increase in retail sales as consumers pulled back in other areas. Online sales fell for the second straight month. It was the first back-to-back decline in online sales in over a year.
Increasing retail sales is usually viewed as a good sign for the economy. It signals that consumers are confident and able to spend money. Reuters reported that the pickup in consumer spending is “helping to underpin the economy.”- READ MORE
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