Jill Schlesinger explains what the new June retail and food sales data tells us about consumer habits and economic confidence.

Washington

Newly released data indicates that Americans spent over $720 billion in retail sales in June, marking a 0.6% increase from the previous month and nearly 4% higher than the same period last year. This growth exceeded analyst forecasts and was observed across most spending categories, suggesting continued consumer confidence despite concerns about tariffs and high prices.

The data, which is not adjusted for inflation, shows that spending outpaced inflation by a small margin. Major sales events, including an extended Amazon Prime Day and similar promotions by other retailers, contributed to a significant boost, with $24 billion spent and a 30% increase from the previous year. Consumers appear to be more strategic, favoring lower-priced items and adjusting summer vacation plans to manage costs.

What new summer spending data says about the economy

Turning now to today's Money Watch. If you guessed who was sitting at the desk with us, you were right. We have Jill Schlesinger here, and we have brand new data about how Americans, how you and all of us are spending their money. In June, Americans spent more than $720 billion in retail sales. That's when you go to stores to buy clothes and things like that. That is up 0.6% from May, and up nearly 4% from last June. So what does that all mean for you? As I mentioned, CBS News business analyst, Jill Schlesinger is here to explain. Hey, Jill. Hello. So tell us about these numbers. Way better than expected. I mean, I feel like I should start this like, long live the American consumer, because we are spending pretty freely across lots of different categories. These results were about three times what the analysts had expected. We had actually a dip in May. A lot of people thought that was tariff-related. Maybe it was more weather-related. We're not so sure. It was kind of a wet season on the East Coast. Why would it be weather-related? Because when it's raining and disgusting out, people don't shop as much. They don't go out. They chill. So what we saw, like, really broad-based spending. Just a few categories were not showing any improvement, but I think this is at least an example that although people say they're spooked about tariffs, and although people say prices are really high, they seem to be spending pretty freely. Now, one other thing about these numbers, they're not adjusted for inflation. So it's just the raw dollars spent. So if prices are up a couple of a percent from a year ago, and these sales are up 4%, we're just a couple percentage points ahead of the inflation rate, just to keep that in mind. Like, it's great. It's good news. We're spending. People have jobs. That's why they're spending. Speaking of inflation, Amazon Prime Day used to be just one day. It's inflated to four as part of a special marathon. And there were other retailers who had their own sales. It was all part of like a week-long event, really, in this country. What were the results of these big events? Again, better than expected. That first day of the sales, and again, all these retailers took part in this. It really was Amazon, but everyone kind of rode their coattails. And the spending was up. The first day, people were saying, oh, numbers are down, but then they actually improved day after day. And we did see $24 billion of spending, up about 30% from a year ago. It's sort of like two Black Fridays. It's incredible. And, you know, I will say that there's some evidence, I don't know, Amazon doesn't release exactly these numbers, but there's some evidence there was a lot of spending on low ticket items, that the average ticket price on what was spent was like 25 bucks. So like, hey, I bought some Dawn dishwashing liquid. Maybe not, I bought a new TV. So, you know, I think what we're really seeing about consumers right now, with inflation, with prices being high, people are more discerning. They're being very strategic. They're really considerate of how they're spending their money. We're almost out of time, but how are they changing how they plan their summer vacations? A lot of people are planning still to go away. Yeah, I mean, a lot of people say they were going to go away. Maybe they're going to have a staycation now, but what we do know is they're pulling back on some of the experiences. Maybe they're going to choose a shorter vacation. And I do think what's fascinating is that, you know, if you are going to stay home, it's still going to cost you money, but you save so much. I encourage everybody, you know, I don't have a middle name, but I have a middle initial and it's V for vacation. And I encourage everybody to take some time off because it does help you recharge whatever you're doing. Even if it's a staycation, do something fun, go visit someplace in your town that you've never been before. I want to go visit you for our little vacation. Well, okay. You know where to come from. By the way. She says no kids allowed though. What, is that true? Yeah. Well, I mean, I would say that I would love children. I said to them to, no, I don't have a child-friendly house. I support this. I think it's safety first. So we'll leave the kids with my mother. I care about the children. I'll bring the wine. All right, perfect. Bill Schlesinger, thank you so much. That V is for vacation in her fake middle name. If you have a money related question for Jill, send an email to askjillatcvs.com and she could answer it in an upcoming segment.

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