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US retail sales tumbled by a record 16.4% from March to April as business shutdowns caused by Covid-19 kept shoppers away, threatened stores across the country and weighed down a sinking economy.<\/p>\nUS retail sales tumbled by a record 16.4% from March to April as business shutdowns caused by Covid-19 kept shoppers away, threatened stores across the country and weighed down a sinking economy.<\/p>\n
The Commerce Department\u2019s report on retail purchases showed a sector that has collapsed so quickly that sales over the past 12 months are down a crippling 21.6%.<\/p>\n
The sharpest drops from March to April were at clothiers, electronics stores, furniture stores and restaurants.<\/p>\n
A long-standing migration of consumers toward online purchases is accelerating, with that segment posting a 8.4% monthly gain.<\/p>\n
Measured year over year, online sales surged 21.6%.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like a hurricane came and leveled the entire economy, and now we\u2019re trying to get it back up and running,\u201d said Joshua Shapiro, chief US economist for the consultancy Maria Fiorini Ramirez.<\/p>\n
Mr Shapiro suggested that retail sales should rebound somewhat as states and localities reopen their economies.<\/p>\n
But he said overall sales would remain depressed \u201cbecause there is going to be a big chunk of the lost jobs that don\u2019t come back\u201d.<\/p>\n