U.S. retail sales excluding autos increased by 37.3% year over year in April and by 17.6% compared to 2019, partly due to the Biden administration’s fiscal stimulus payments. Growth has been led by sales of leisure goods and has been matched by a surge in U.S. seaborne imports of consumer discretionary goods of 47.9% year over year and by 34.0% compared to 2019 in April. Consumer durables including furniture and appliances have led the way in the import expansion. That’s come at a cost though, with Qurate’s CEO, Michael George, noting that “we’re paying more for freight” and that the fir...