Core retail sales up 7% year over year in April as consumers stocked up pre-tariffs

Retail sales rose in April as many consumers continued to move up buying to avoid higher prices expected to result from tariffs. Core retail sales (excluding restaurants, automobile dealers and gasoline stations) increased 0.9% month-over-month in April and 7.11% year-over-year, according to the CNBC/Retail Monitor released by the National Retail Federation, which uses actual, anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions.