March retail sales blew past expectations 

Retail sales in March surpassed expectations, according to new numbers released by the Commerce Department on Monday.

The latest estimates from the Commerce Department show that retail sales in March increased by 0.7 percent — which is more than double the consensus estimates of a 0.3 percent increase for last month. While it surpassed expectations for March, the rise is slightly below February’s 0.9 percent jump in retail sales.

The department revised February’s bump in retail sales from 0.6 percent to 0.9 percent, according to the estimate released Monday. The overall increase in retail sales comes after sales fell by 1.1 percent in January.

The department said total sales from January to March were up 2.1 percent from the same period last year.

The boost in retail sales suggests that Americans were not discouraged from spending despite an uptick in inflation.

The latest retail sales numbers came just a week after the new Labor Department data showed inflation ticking higher in March. The consumer price index (CPI) — a popular measure of inflation — rose 0.4 percent last month and 3.5 percent annually.

This followed a trend of rising inflation despite inflation being down overall from its 2022 peak. Consumer prices were up 3.2 percent year over year in February and 3.1 percent in January.