WASHINGTON, July 11, 2025 โ Retail sales slowed in June amid continued consumer worries about the impact of government policies on the economy, according to theย CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions, released today by the National Retail Federation.
โJuneโs numbers indicate that prolonged uncertainty surrounding the economy, tariffs and trade policy could be pushing consumers to adopt a โwait-and-seeโ approach with their household budgets,โ NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. โThis was the first monthly decline since February, and spending was down across almost all sectors. Economic fundamentals havenโt been disrupted yet and shoppers still have the ability to spend on priorities, but the economy is gradually slowing and there has been an impact on the psyche of consumers. While passage of the โBig Beautiful Billโ is clearly supportive of economic growth, unresolved and restrictive trade policies remain a significant headwind.โ
Total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were down 0.33% seasonally adjusted month over month but up 3.19% unadjusted year over year in June, according to the Retail Monitor. That compared with increases of 0.49% month over month and 4.44% year over year in May.
The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales (excluding restaurants in addition to automobile dealers and gasoline stations) was down 0.32% month over month in June but up 3.36% year over year. That compared with increases of 0.23% month over month and 4.2% year over year in May.
Total sales were up 4.66% year over year for the first six months of the year and core sales were up 4.93%. The month-over-month drops were the first since February, when total and core sales both fell 0.22% from January.
Unlike survey-based numbers collected by the Census Bureau, the Retail Monitor uses actual, anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions and does not need to be revised monthly or annually.
June sales were up in seven out of nine categories on a yearly basis, led by digital products, sporting goods stores and health and personal care stores, but were down in all but one category on a monthly basis. Specifics from key sectors include:ย
- Digital products (such as electronic books and games) were up 0.26% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 24.11% year over year unadjusted.ย
- Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores were down 0.13% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 8.52% year over year unadjusted.ย
- Health and personal care stores were down 0.31% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 3.47% year over year unadjusted.ย
- General merchandise stores were down 0.15% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 3.18% year over year unadjusted.ย
- Grocery and beverage stores were down 0.13% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 2.59% year over year unadjusted.ย
- Clothing and accessories stores were down 0.22% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 2.71% year over year unadjusted.ย
- Electronics and appliance stores were down 1.03% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 2.43% year over year unadjusted.ย
- Furniture and home furnishings stores were down 1.04% month over month seasonally adjusted and down 1.14% year over year unadjusted.ย
- Building and garden supply stores were down 0.76% month over month seasonally adjusted and down 5.33% year over year unadjusted.ย
To learn more, visit nrf.com/nrf/cnbc-retail-monitor.
As the leading authority and voice for the retail industry, NRF provides data on retail sales each month and also forecasts annual retail sales and spending for key periods such as the holiday season each year.
About NRF
The National Retail Federation passionately advocates for the people, brands, policies and ideas that help retail succeed. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., NRF empowers the industry that powers the economy. Retail is the nationโs largest private-sector employer, contributing $5.3 trillion to annual GDP and supporting more than one in four U.S. jobs โ 55 million working Americans. For over a century, NRF has been a voice for every retailer and every retail job, educating, inspiring and communicating the powerful impact retail has on local communities and global economiesย nrf.comย
About CNBC
CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business content consumed by more than half a billion people per month across all platforms. The networkโs 15 live hours a day of news programming in North America (weekdays from 5:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBCโs global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC at night features a mix of reality programming, CNBCโs highly successful series produced exclusively for CNBC and a number of distinctive in-house documentaries.
CNBC also offers content through its vast portfolio of digital products such as: CNBC.com, which provides financial market news and information to CNBCโs investor audience; CNBC Make It, a digital destination focused on making you smarter about how you earn, save and spend your money; CNBC PRO, a premium service that provides in-depth access to Wall Street; a suite of CNBC mobile apps for iOS and Android devices; Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Siri voice interfaces; and streaming services including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Samsung Smart TVs. To learn more, visitย cnbc.com/digital-products. Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBCUniversal Media Village Web site atย nbcumv.com/programming/cnbc. For more information about NBCUniversal, please visitย NBCUniversal.com.
About Affinity Solutions
Affinity Solutions (Affinity) is the leading consumer purchase insights company. We provide a complete view of U.S. and U.K. consumer spending, across and between brands, via exclusive access to fully permissioned data from over 140 million debit and credit cards. This data is transformed into privacy-compliant, actionable intelligence for marketers, consultancies, and financial services companies to drive strategic growth and lasting customer relationships.ย Visit us atย www.affinitysolutions.comย to discover how weโre shaping the future of consumer purchase insights.
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MEDIA CONTACTS
NRF: J. Craig Shearman | press@nrf.com
CNBC: Melissa Castro | melissa.castro@nbcuni.com
Affinity Solutions: Kathleen Siddell | ksiddell@affinitysolutions.com
