On a monthly basis, retail sales decreased 8.7 percent from February to March (seasonally adjusted), and sales were down 6.2 percent from March 2019.
Retail spending is in a free fall — nosediving a record 8.7% last month — as more companies continue to furlough workers and stores, malls and restaurants remain shuttered across the country during the coronavirus pandemic.
The March drop was the largest monthly fall since the Commerce Department began tracking retail sales three decades ago. The previous record was a 3.9% drop in November 2008, during the Great Recession.
Americans are still spending a fair amount on food and online deliveries, but not enough to offset the massive drops in shopping for clothes and accessories (down a stunning 50.5%) and furniture (down 26.8%). Spending on autos, parts and gasoline also plummeted.
Economists are warning that April might show an even bigger decline in retail spending as shutdowns continue — and in some areas didn’t begin in earnest until late March.
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From the Census Bureau report:
Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for March 2020, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $483.1 billion, a decrease of 8.7 percent from the previous month, and 6.2 percent below March 2019.