Retail sales rise 1.4% in March as shoppers stock up on big ticket items ahead of tariffs

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, Associated Press Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. shoppers increased their shopping last month, fueled by a spending spree on big ticket items from gadgets to cars before President Donald Trump’s expansive new tariffs started kicking in.
Retail sales rose 1.4% in March, after rising 0.2% in February, according to the Commerce Department. Retail sales fell 1.2% in January, hurt in part by cold weather that kept more Americans indoors, denting sales at car