NewsDialy
Consumer sentiment, the periodic survey of how optimistic or pessimistic households feel about their financial condition, has declined alongside retail sales as the war in Iran intensifies cost of living pressures.
Americans are turning more skeptical of the Trump administration's economic management, and the combination of falling confidence and falling spending signals that skepticism is moving beyond opinion.
Sentiment and retail sales are measuring different things, which is why both moving at once matters. A sentiment survey asks people how they feel about their finances and the broader economy.
Retail sales track what people actually bought. The two can diverge: households sometimes feel pessimistic but keep spending anyway.
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