June retail sales smashed expectations, rising 0.6% month-over-month after two straight declines, signaling that U.S. consumers remain resilient despite elevated borrowing costs and tariff policy uncertainty.
The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed retail and food services sales climbing to $720.1 billion in June, up 0.6% from May and 3.9% higher than a year ago.
The rebound follows two months of contraction, including a revised -0.9% drop in May, and sharply beating economist forecasts of a modest 0.1% increase.
Spending was broad-based, with the biggest gains in miscellaneous store retailers (up 1.8%), motor vehicles and parts dealers (up 1.2%), and building material and garden equipment stores (up 0.9%).
Food services and grocery stores both rose 0.5%, and online retailers saw a 0.4% bump. Only a few categories lagged, including department stores, which declined 0.8%, and furniture and electronics, both of which fell 0.1%.
Even the retail sales control group—a key input for GDP that excludes food, autos, building materials and …