Retail Sales Plunge in March

Retail sales in the United States fell 8.7 percent in March from the prior month and were down 6.2 percent year over year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The plunge was due to impact from COVID-19. Clothing and accessories stores took the biggest hit, falling by 50.7 percent. Among the stores that have closed during the pandemic are Macy’s and Kohl’s. 

However, food and beverage retailers had a strong month, seeing sales rise 28 percent, as shoppers rushed to stock up on items in the midst of stay-at-home orders that have closed restaurants. 

More bad news could be coming next month.

Credit Suisse economist James Sweeney was quoted by Yahoo Finance as saying: “March should mark only the beginning of a recessionary decline in consumption and the decline is likely to intensify in April. Overall we expect consumption to fall by 17.5% QoQ annualized in Q2, the worst quarter since WWII,”