Data: Trading Economics and U.S. Dept. of Commerce; Chart: Axios Visuals
Even before President Trump heated up the trade war again, consumers in both the U.S. and China were slowing down their spending.
- China's retail sales rose 7.2% in April, the slowest rate of growth since May 2003, a sign their economy is cooling significantly.
- U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.2% last month when analysts projected a 0.2% increase. However, retail sales did show year-over-year growth of 3.1%.
Go deeper: The death of brick and mortar store prices
