Retail sales bounced back after a decline in March.
Economists predict retail sales in April will rise to 1.0%, not adjusted for inflation after a decline in retail sales in March – indicating consumers are slowly spending their money in an economy with high inflation and interest rates.
1.What Economist Predict In April Retail Report
Economists expect a slight recovery in tomorrow’s jobs report after declines in retail sales report in February and March. The auto sector would lead the bounce back because vehicle sales increased in April. Decent vehicle sales usually indicate that people want to spend– if people are willing to spend their money on vehicles, other categories will also thrive, economists predict. Economists also expect gasoline prices to rise because, in the most recent CPI report– gasoline prices rose by 3%.
2. Categories That Saw An Increased in Retail Sales
Economists expect to see an increase in sales in categories such as non-store retailers– which have continued to grow steadily. In addition to food services, because people are now spending more money on services rather than goods– more people are traveling, and when people travel– people spend more on food, restaurants, and bars. Lastly, economists predict decent growth in apparel and sporting goods.
3. Categories That Saw An Decrease in Retail Sales
Economists expect a decrease in the general merchandise and building materials in the April retail sales report. Moreover, economists are a little concerned about UPS because they reported their earnings and saw a decrease in shipping activity– usually, shipping correlates with online sales– so economists think there may be a slight decline in the online sales category.
4. If The Retail Report Sales Do Decline Again, What Will Be The Cause
Economists predict that retail sales will decline because people are getting more selective in their spending because of inflation and the hike of interest rates causing credit card lending rates to rise.
“I don’t know that people necessarily track what their card rates are very carefully. But what does happen is people who run balances start to notice that they start to notice that their monthly payments get uncomfortably high,” said Christopher Low, an economist at FHN Financial.
As monthly payments increase, people may buy essential and nonessential items to survive because some live paycheck to paycheck, even with increased wage growth in April.
5. How Will Retail Sales Influence The Fed’s Next Decision
Economists have split predictions on whether the Fed will increase or pause interest rates in their next meeting in June. Economists predict that tomorrow’s retail sales report will be one of many factors the Fed will consider in their next meeting. Economists expect the resilience of consumer spending, the strength of employment, the CPI and PPI report, and inflation to all be considered in their next meeting. If the Fed increases interest rates even further, people may cut back from spending further than they did in the previous month of February and March.