NPD: Consumer Discretionary Retail Spending Continues to Climb Against Pre-Pandemic Levels Share Article The stimulus is amplifying budding consumer trends as the U.S. enters stage 1 of retail’s repositioning “The stimulus is indeed stimulating consumer spending and bringing their emerging wants and needs to the surface as they begin to reengage in more in-person activities,” said Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry advisor, retail. PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (PRWEB) April 14, 2021 The U.S. is in a much different position than it was this time last year as it relates to the pandemic, and while discretionary retail sales are reflecting that, they also showcase the impact of the latest round of stimulus checks. Through March 2021, and into early April, weekly discretionary retail sales results have not only surpassed 2020 figures when the marketplace saw a steep drop in consumer spending at the start of the lockdown period, but also the same weeks in 2019 when COVID-19 wasn’t even part of our vocabulary. In the week ending April 3, 2021, NPD’s retail early indicator data shows a 39% increase compared to two years ago, and more than double that growth when comparing to last year.