07:34 AM EDT, 05/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Retail sales have been roughly stable in Q1 in the eurozone, as March saw a small tick down by 0.1% compared with February, note ING after the data release on Wednesday.

Uncertainty continues to cause consumers to shy away from spending on goods, as retail sales in the eurozone have been roughly flat since September 2024, wrote the bank in a note.

In the year before, a gentle recovery of retail spending had occurred, but consumer confidence has been falling since November last year -- coinciding with the Unite States presidential elections.

The most recent moves don't bode well, stated ING, as eurozone consumer confidence fell sharply in response to the trade war escalating in April.

This means that consumers are sitting on the fence at the moment, although wage growth is now outpacing inflation, added the bank. Negotiated wage growth in the eurozone has trended above 4% since early 2023, while inflation has now fallen to benign levels just above 2%.

This means that consumers are recovering lost purchasing power but aren't yet using that to spend more at the store.

For the months ahead, ING expects that the global economic environment will continue to spook consumers, but modest growth in spending could still be in the making, with wage growth also expected to consistently outpace inflation.