March retail sales data was hotter than expected, rising 0.7%. This constitutes the second consecutive monthly uptick in retail sales, with February's number swinging up to 0.9%. Spending increased notably on e-commerce purchases and at restaurants and bars.

Brooke DiPalma joins Yahoo Finance to discuss the data, explaining that sticky inflation and higher interest rates do not appear to deter the consumer from shopping faster than expected. DiPalma also explores how the data could impact the Fed's decision to wait longer to cut interest rates.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance.

This article was written by Gabriel Roy.

Video Transcript

SEANA SMITH: Well, retail sales coming in hotter than expected for the month of March, rising 7/10 of a percent. February's number also revised to the upside for an increase of 9/10 of a percent. So what does this tell us about the state of the consumer? Clearly, very resilient. Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma is here to tell us the latest on that, joining us now with some of the trends that we're seeing. Brooke.

BROOKE DIPALMA: Good morning, Seana. Absolutely seeing a resilient US consumer here based upon those March retail sales numbers. A sticky inflation and higher interest rates is not deterring the US consumer from continuing to shop at a faster-than-expected rate. Taking a closer look at those numbers, we did see them come in up 0.7%, compared to estimates of up 0.4%. And this is now the second consecutive monthly uptick in retail sales, once again indicating that the US consumer remains resilient and does remain strong.

Now, breaking down the report, we did see an increase in gas prices that led to the headline number coming in higher. We also did see an increase in spending as far as online shopping, general merchandise, as well as at restaurants and bars. And this is a key indicator that could impact the Fed's decision to wait longer to cut interest rates.

And we heard from Roth MKM chief economist Michael Darda this morning that said that the Fed eventually will get around to lowering policy rates and easing this year, but they'll be very reluctant to start that process until it's really much more obvious that the economy is losing steam here. Once again, US retail sales coming in hotter than expected for the month of March.

And there's also a slew of earnings this week that could give us a closer inside look at the state of the US consumer, including earnings from Bank of America, as well as credit card companies American Express and Discover, in addition to CPG giant Procter & Gamble, all those giving us closer, deeper-dive, inside look at the state of the US consumer. Back to you, Seana.