Higher prices push up April retail sales

Retail sales rose 0.5% to $757.1 billion in April, the Commerce Department reported this week, and that bump was aided by a 0.6% rise in consumer prices in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This comes after retail sales and consumer prices both saw notable increases in March amid rising fuel costs. Energy prices, up 3.8% from April, continued to pull up the index, as core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased 0.4% in April.

After grocery prices dropped 0.2% last month, they ticked up 0.7% in April, the largest monthly jump since 2022, and 2.9% YoY. Five of the six major categories saw price jumps. Those include meats, poultry, fish, and eggs—pushed up by higher beef prices—up 1.3%, and fruits and vegetables up 1.8%, thanks to skyrocketing tomato prices. Grocery store sales were up 0.7% month over month and 1.5% YoY.

Andy Harig, VP of tax, trade, sustainability, and policy development at FMI, The Food Industry Association, attributed the price increase to the “energy-intensive” food production process, and said the industry is “working across the supply chain to manage cost pressures.”

Electronics and appliance stores got the biggest sales bump (outside of gas stations), a 1.4% month over month rise, with appliance prices falling 0.4% in April. Nonstore retailers, composed largely of e-commerce sales, jumped 1.1% month over month. Miscellaneous store retailers got a 0.3% monthly sales increase.

After notching growth in March, department store sales saw the largest monthly drop, 3.2%, in April.

Across other categories, furniture store sales declined 2% YoY, while furniture and bedding prices were down 0.3% YoY. Health and personal care store sales were flat, while personal care product prices increased 0.7%. Clothing store sales declined 1.5%, and apparel prices were up 0.6%.

Wrong foot: Footwear prices rose 4.2% YoY. Following this week’s CPI release, Matt Priest, president and CEO of Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), said in a statement that tariffs, rather than high transit costs, are to blame for inflated prices, pushing for a tariff reduction to “ease the pressure.”

“The burden continues to build,” he said. “Import costs are already up nearly 14%, and as the government pushes forward with more tariffs in this environment, there is a limit to what companies can absorb.”