“Retail sales increased 0.2% in February, though spending up less than expected”

“Retail sales increased 0.2% on the month, better than the downwardly revised decline of 1.2% the prior month but below the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.6% rise.

The so-called control group, which strips out noncore sectors and feeds directly into gross domestic product calculations, rose a better-than-expected 1%.

Also, the New York Fed’s measure of factory activity in the region posted an unexpectedly sharp drop for March…”

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/17/retail-sales-increased-0point2percent-in-february-less-than-expected.html

Basically the economy is a mixed bag right now with there being some good and some bad.