Stimulus checks helped retail sales soar

Newly vaccinated and armed with $1,400 stimulus checks, Americans went on a spending spree last month, buying new clothes and going out to eat again.

Retail sales surged a seasonally adjusted 9.8% in March after dropping about 3% the month before, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The increase was the biggest since May of last year, when stores reopened after closing at the start of the pandemic.

Thursday’s report is the latest sign that the economy is improving as vaccinations accelerate, business restrictions are relaxed and more people are willing to head out to shop or eat. Employers, for example, added 916,000 jobs last month, the most since August. And U.S. consumer confidence surged in March to the highest level in a year.

A third round of stimulus checks was sent out beginning in the middle of March, with most adults receiving $1,400. So far, about 159 million direct payments have been paid out to households.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank, which surveyed more than 1,000 people, said households planned to spend about a quarter of their most recent stimulus checks on goods. The rest of the money would be used to pay down.

Americans spent their cash on cars, eating out and home renovations, according to the Commerce Department. But sporting goods stores saw the biggest jump in sales, up 23.5% in March from the month before, as people bought outdoor gear. It was followed by clothing stores, where sales soared 18.3%.