Weekly Economic Update 04-24-26: Just Retail Sales...nothing else.

Retail sales were up big in March...but it was all put in the gas tank.

The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Georgia Institute of Technology or the Georgia Board of Regents.

There was only ONE piece of economic data released this week…March retail sales. So, I apologize in advance that this will be a very short Economic Update. Due to the lack of content, I have made it completely available to all my subscribers, both free and paid.

But first, before we get to the data…as is probably the case in the rest of the country, we here in Georgia are in the heart of the political primary season. Every single day, my mail box is full of nothing but colorful flyers informing me of why a particular candidate deserves my vote, or conversely, why another candidate is a scoundrel and deserves my total derision. And if someone can figure out a way to block all political texts, they will become rich beyond their wildest dreams.

This past Sunday, one of the many candidates for Georgia Governor came to my church, so I thought I would take the opportunity to introduce myself and ask exactly how he planned to make “Georgia the most affordable state in America.” The answer would have economic applicability, so I figured I could discuss it here.

So I did that. He totally blew me off. I mean, it was a stunning display of total disregard. I got a smile, and then he just walked away.

I get that maybe you don’t want to get into a substantive economic discussion in the lobby of a church, especially given the fact that there is very little a Governor can do to make the state “more affordable.” So when asked about your economic plan by an actual economist, perhaps the cold shoulder is the smart play. Or, maybe he was simply more interested in shaking hands and being seen “going to church” than actually discussing policy. But either way, it was a total blow-off. If you are going to behave like that, why even go out in public? Most politicians can be somewhat personable when they dare to go out and meet with the plebeians, even if it is totally fake. But if you can’t even fake it, maybe it is just better to stay home and let your commercials do the talking.

I had to chuckle at his “handler”… a young fella whose only job seemed to be to pull out a tin of Altoids every once in a while and give his boss a mint. Well, at least they were in church. Although they probably spent the time thinking about getting on to the next event.

I once ran for local office. At the time, I really felt I would be good and could contribute. Maybe everyone who runs for office starts out that way. You know the worst part about running for office? People called me a “politician.” I guess technically, I was, but I hated it when people would use that term to describe me. If you have read this blog for any period of time, you know how I feel about “politicians,” especially those at the national level. George Will once said, “we have gotten to the point in this country where if you want to run for President, it means you aren’t qualified.” Unfortunately, I think nowadays that applies to just about every office, at every level.

The end of this election season can’t come quickly enough.

Retail Sales

Again, the only piece of economic data we got this week was retail sales for the month of March, and they accelerated 1.7% for the month, and are up 4.0% from one year ago (full release here). Core retail sales rose 0.8% in March, the best showing since last June.

So, why were total retail sales so much stronger than core? Because “core” removes several sectors, not the least of which is gas stations. And gas station sales went through the roof in March, as anyone who had to fill their tank over the past few weeks can attest.

But even without gas, nearly every sector showed growth in March. On first glance, this might suggest that the consumer is still going strong. I think it has more to do with the fact that the consumer is getting much larger than expected tax refunds from the Federal Government. We will see in a couple of months if these numbers fall off or will be sustained. My bet is the former.

One More Thing…

I will be speaking at Innovate 2026 in Washington, D.C., on May 6th. If you are there, come up and say “hi.” I love getting a chance to meet my readers.

As I mentioned last week, I would entertain having a guest writer during the weeks this summer I will be on vacation. If that is of any interest to you, reach out to me with an idea, and we can discuss it further. But do it soon. June is coming up fast.

Finally, let me give a shout-out to a long-time colleague and supporter of this blog, Matt Forshee, who has started his own SubStack - The Daily Economic Briefing. DAILY!!! Can you imagine that!?! I know how much time and effort go into a weekly economic SubStack. I can not fathom doing one every day. Matt is “writing at the intersection of global economics and local impact.” If you think that might be of interest to you, I encourage you to check out his SubStack.

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The Weekly Economic Update is sponsored this week by:

Economic Impact Group, LLC.