{"id":1627,"date":"2026-06-17T18:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T18:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627"},"modified":"2026-06-17T18:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T18:45:08","slug":"americans-are-still-spending-their-tax-refunds-for-now-as-retail-sales-jump-in-may","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627","title":{"rendered":"Americans are still spending their tax refunds \u2014\u00a0for now, as retail sales jump in May"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Retail sales rose 0.9%, up from a revised 0.4% gain in April, according to new Commerce Department data released Wednesday. Sales got a boost from generous government tax refunds in both April and May, though economists say that cash cushion is starting to fade.<\/p>\n

Read more The global under-16 social media ban Is no longer a fringe policy<\/a><\/p>\n

Excluding sales at gas stations, retail sales in May rose 0.7%.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Spending was broad-based. Business at clothing, accessory and furniture stores all posted increases. Online sales rose 1.5%.<\/p>\n

There were a few weak spots. Electronics and appliance stores and department stores both registered slight declines.<\/p>\n

The data released Wednesday offers only a snapshot of consumer spending and doesn\u2019t include activities like travel and hotel stays. The lone services category \u2013 restaurants \u2013 registered a 0.1% decline.<\/p>\n

But the so-called control group\u2014which excludes food services, autos, building materials and gas station sales and is used to calculate economic growth\u2014rose 0.7%. That suggests solid spending, economists said.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Consumers are the engine of the American economy, driving most of the nation\u2019s economic growth. And the latest retail sales report underscores that spending has remained resilient so far this year despite rising prices.\u00a0Solid increases in hiring\u00a0have also buoyed spending, economists said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stronger-than-forecast and broad-based gains in May retail sales show that consumers continued to spend strongly despite higher gasoline prices in the month,\u201d Nationwide Chief Economist Kathy Bostjancic writes. \u201cThe large tax refunds and overall tax reductions for households this year and the recent strengthening in employment growth helped buffer the negative drag from higher gasoline prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Rising gas prices\u00a0pushed inflation\u00a0to its highest level in three years, U.S. data showed last week, with consumer prices rising 4.2% in May, compared with last year. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.5% last month, after big gains of 0.6% in April and 0.9% in March.<\/p>\n

Read more OpenAI\u2019s backers spent $7.6 million to destroy a state legislator. Anthropic spent $10 million to rescue him<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

There is a tentative deal to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but even after oil starts flowing again from the Middle East it could take awhile\u00a0for the supply crunch to ease.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Gas prices fell about a penny overnight to $4.02, down 11% from a month ago, according to motor club AAA. The national average for a gallon of gasoline has not been below $4 since March, according to AAA.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the deal is encouraging, our industry is still holding its breath,\u201d said Steve Lamar, the CEO of trade group American Apparel & Footwear Association. \u201dOur question now is, will this agreement be strong enough for our global industry to begin recovering?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lamar noted that unplanned costs continue to squeeze profit margins, with companies facing higher expenses for ocean freight, air cargo and packaging. He said that even under the best-case scenario, it will take time to stabilize.<\/p>\n

The spike in gas prices this year due to the Iran war may alter some behavior, peace deal or not.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Even as gas prices continue to retreat, analysts say some shoppers will stick to habits they picked up as prices soared, like filling up the car at big box stores where they can get discounts.<\/p>\n

Visits to gas stations operated by big box chains like BJ\u2019s, Costco and Sam\u2019s Club, which offer discounts to members, began to accelerate in early March, aligning with a sharp rise in fuel prices, said R.J. Hottovy, the head of analytical research at\u00a0Placer.ai, which tracks people\u2019s movements based on cellphone usage.<\/p>\n

Read more The Knicks have won 3 NBA titles, but their first parade was held up for 55 years by a budget crisis and a rejected $372 expense report<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Retail sales jumped 0.9%, stronger than forecast \u2014 but the cash that fueled it came from one-time tax refunds, and that cushion, economists say, is gone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[136],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-consumer-spending"],"yoast_head":"\nAmericans are still spending their tax refunds \u2014\u00a0for now, as retail sales jump in May - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Americans are still spending their tax refunds \u2014\u00a0for now, as retail sales jump in May - Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Retail sales jumped 0.9%, stronger than forecast \u2014 but the cash that fueled it came from one-time tax refunds, and that cushion, economists say, is gone.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T18:45:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"headline\":\"Americans are still spending their tax refunds \u2014\u00a0for now, as retail sales jump in May\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T18:45:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627\"},\"wordCount\":626,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/21a1eebec719302ee6a8ac62815049c9.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Consumer Spending\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627\",\"name\":\"Americans are still spending their tax refunds \u2014\u00a0for now, as retail sales jump in May - Cross Country Moving Team\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/21a1eebec719302ee6a8ac62815049c9.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T18:45:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/21a1eebec719302ee6a8ac62815049c9.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/21a1eebec719302ee6a8ac62815049c9.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=1627#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Americans are still spending their tax refunds \u2014\u00a0for now, as retail sales jump in May\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cross Country Moving Team\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Americans are still spending their tax refunds \u2014\u00a0for now, as retail sales jump in May - Cross Country Moving Team","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Americans are still spending their tax refunds \u2014\u00a0for now, as retail sales jump in May - Cross Country Moving Team","og_description":"Retail sales jumped 0.9%, stronger than forecast \u2014 but the cash that fueled it came from one-time tax refunds, and that cushion, economists say, is gone.","og_url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627","og_site_name":"Cross Country Moving Team","article_published_time":"2026-06-17T18:45:08+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa"},"headline":"Americans are still spending their tax refunds \u2014\u00a0for now, as retail sales jump in May","datePublished":"2026-06-17T18:45:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627"},"wordCount":626,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/21a1eebec719302ee6a8ac62815049c9.webp","articleSection":["Consumer Spending"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627","name":"Americans are still spending their tax refunds \u2014\u00a0for now, as retail sales jump in May - Cross Country Moving Team","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/21a1eebec719302ee6a8ac62815049c9.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-17T18:45:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/21a1eebec719302ee6a8ac62815049c9.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/21a1eebec719302ee6a8ac62815049c9.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1627#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Americans are still spending their tax refunds \u2014\u00a0for now, as retail sales jump in May"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/","name":"Cross Country Moving Team","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com"],"url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}