The Commerce Department's data reveals a 0.9% contraction in US retail sales for May, compounding April's 0.1% dip, a downturn widely ascribed to a precipitous drop in automotive sales following a March surge fuelled by anticipatory purchases intended to circumvent President Trump's proposed 25% tariff on imported vehicles and components; notwithstanding a concomitant erosion of consumer confidence, sustained low inflation and robust employment figures may yet sustain moderate expenditure levels in the near term, although a 0.4% rise in sales excluding volatile sectors like gasoline, automobiles, and restaurants hints at ongoing, albeit selective, discretionary spending, with online vendors, apparel outlets, and furniture emporia bucking the prevailing downward trend, the overarching decline intimating a nascent anxiety surrounding inflationary pressures engendered by the aforementioned protectionist measures.