Retail sales surged in March led by autos as consumers looked to beat tariffs

U.S. retail sales rose more than expected in March as consumers frontloaded big-ticket purchases to get ahead of anticipated tariff-induced price hikes.

The Commerce Department released its data for March on Wednesday, which showed retail sales increased 1.4% on a monthly basis, a bigger gain than the forecast of a 1.3% rise that was projected by LSEG economists.

When excluding vehicle purchases, retail sales were up 0.5% in March, which also surpassed the 0.3% estimated by LSEG's poll of economists.