reuters.com
www.reuters.com

U.S. retail sales dropped by the most in nearly two years in January, likely weighed down by frigid temperatures, wildfires and motor vehicle shortages, suggesting a sharp slowdown in economic growth early in the first quarter.

But the larger-than-expected and across the board decline in retail sales reported by the Commerce Department on Friday probably does not reflect a material shift in consumer spending as it also followed four straight months of hefty increases.

A sharp upward revision to December’s sales took some of the sting from the report. Economists also noted that it was difficult to strip out large seasonal swings from the data at the turn of the year, which was also evident in the January consumer inflation report.

  • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    401·
    5 days ago

    “Maybe people are getting confused on the tariff story and think they are happening immediately and are therefore not even considering a purchase,” said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-closed-de-minimis-import-loophole-until-all-hell-broke-loose-2025-02-14/

    Uhm people literally got fucked by some of the tariffs going into effect immediately???

    Trump had to pump the brakes on that shit it was breaking down so fast.

    How are we so sure it’s not people being reasonable about not knowing what is coming? I expect it to keep tanking because Trump is literally unpredictable. The only thing that’s predictable about him is chaos.

      • adarza@lemmy.caEnglish
        4·
        5 days ago

        i read about a couple of those, and just figured those were probably rogue contractors for dhl or whoever scamming recipients.

        • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works
          12·
          5 days ago

          just figured those were probably rogue contractors for dhl or whoever scamming recipients.

          Nope:

          “I am now stuck with $30,000 of items I can’t move across the border, the lifeblood of my business,” says Leslie Brown, the owner of a Canadian secondhand clothing company that sells to US shoppers on eBay and Poshmark. Yesterday, Brown published a blog post on Medium titled “Donald Trump Will Kill My Business.”

          US customers who placed orders on shopping websites like the popular Chinese fast-fashion platform Shein have been particularly impacted, even if they made their purchases long before the tariffs were announced. They are now forced to either pay hefty fees—in some cases, more than the value of the items inside—or have their packages sent back.

          https://web.archive.org/web/20250206055906/https://www.wired.com/story/tariffs-china-prices-fees-shein-temu/