Americans Pull Back on Consumer Spending

A CNN.com article

Americans pulled back on their retail spending in July and their confidence in the economy is taking a hit. That’s a potentially troubling combination for a consumer-driven economy.

Retail sales fell 0.6% in July from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Friday, down from June’s 0.2% and marking the steepest drop since May 2025. Those figures are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation. A separate report from the University of Michigan showed that consumer sentiment declined about 8% early this month to a preliminary reading of 51, ending a two-month streak of rising sentiment.

Both reports came in worse than economists had estimated in polls by data firm FactSet, showing that the lifeblood of the US economy — consumer spending — is coming under pressure. People’s dollars account for about two-thirds of economic growth.

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