The U.S. consumer: resilient, unvanquished, indefatigable. The May retail sales report released on Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Commerce says as much. Overall sales were up 0.9% from April, way more than economists expected. Of course, some of that was soaring gas prices. Consumers spent 3.4% more at gas stations in May than they did in April and 26% more than they did in May 2025 (that’s thanks to the war in Iran).