US Retail Sales Beat Market Estimates in May

Consumers are opening their wallets for more than just trips to the gas station.

A gas station in Washington on June 16, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

U.S. shoppers kept their wallets open for the fourth straight month as retail sales rose at a better-than-expected pace in May, new government data show.

Retail sales advanced 0.9 percent last month, from a downwardly revised 0.4 percent gain in April, according to new Census Bureau data released on June 17.