Retail Roars Back: US Sales Surge 0.6% in June, Defying Expectations

In June 2025, US retail sales had a major comeback, rising 0. 6% month over month to $720. 1 billion. This performance far outperformed market projections, which had forecasted a modest 0. 1% increase. This favorable change follows two straight months of fall; May showed a 0. 9% drop, while April saw a 0. 1% decrease. Compared to June 2024, retail sales in June 2025 increased by 3. 9% year over year.

Excluding car sales, retail sales still registered a respectable 0. 5% monthly increase. At the same time, the retail sales control group—a primary indicator employed in GDP estimates—also increased by 0. 5%. Leading the month-over-month growth were building material and garden equipment (0. 9%), motor vehicles and components (1. 2%), and miscellaneous store merchants (1. 8%). On the other hand, furniture and electronics retailers reported a slight decrease of 0. 1% while gasoline stations remained flat.

This increase in June retail sales points to a robust US consumer and a possibly better economy, which might affect the Federal Reserve's decisions on interest rate adjustments. Higher costs for goods affected by tariffs can also explain part of the rise. The data, furnished by the official US Census Bureau release for June 2025, reverses a recent trend of diminishing sales and underlines fresh consumer spending.