Americans have become very cautious spenders, and that was extremely evident in May. Kurt Barnard Barnard's Retail Consulting

Americans have become very cautious spenders, and that was extremely evident in May. Kurt Barnard Barnard's Retail Consulting

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Consumer spending had been doing pretty well in the face of everything. Then we saw the retail sales figures for May.

It seems that, perhaps, American consumers are finally reacting to all the bad economic news around them by leaving their credit cards at home.

Some experts think that this is, in fact, the inevitable downturn. Consumers couldn't keep spending like Richie Rich forever and now they've finally begun to slowdown.

For more read Are consumers digging in?

But CNNfn's Kathleen Hays isn't worried. First, the weather was just lousy in May so it's no wonder people weren't out shopping. Plus, auto sales, which make up 25 percent of retail sales, were undercut by a market saturated by earlier financing deals. This will pass.

For more read Have we all stopped shopping?