US March retail sales plummet during pandemic: NRF

“COVID-19 has hit the retail industry unevenly,” NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “This is a market of haves and have-nots. The haves are the stores that remain open with lines out the doors to buy daily necessities while the have-nots are the stores that have closed and are taking the brunt of the impact of the pandemic. These numbers should come as no surprise given the mandated shutdown of our economy to slow the spread of the virus.”

“March was a month that started out with many stores still open, but far more are closed now,” Kleinhenz said. “Don’t be surprised if the data going forward shows a worsening situation. Even if the economy begins to reopen in May, consumer behavior may take a long time to adjust. The road to recovery could be long and slow.”

The US Census Bureau said that overall retail sales during March were down 8.7 per cent seasonally adjusted from February and down 6.2 per cent unadjusted year-over-year. The monthly drop is the largest ever recorded, exceeding a 4.3 per cent decline in November 2008 during the Great Recession.

NRF’s calculation of retail sales – which excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants in order to focus on core retail – showed March was up 1.7 per cent seasonally adjusted from February and up 4.5 per cent unadjusted year-over-year.

The difference between the Census Bureau and NRF numbers is because the categories NRF excludes saw some of the biggest hits. In addition to bars and restaurants being closed, gasoline sales were affected both by fewer people driving and lower gas prices while auto dealers were among those affected by stay-at-home orders.

Clothing stores saw the biggest decline among categories counted by both NRF and the Census Bureau, with sales down 50.5 per cent from February.

The March NRF numbers follow a decline of 0.2 per cent in February from January as the coronavirus began to have its first effects. February sales were up 7.4 per cent year-over year, but the increase was artificially high because of low sales following the government shutdown in early 2019. The three-month-moving average as of March was up 5.1 per cent.

Clothing and clothing accessory stores were down 50.5 per cent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and down 52 per cent unadjusted year-over-year.

The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (PC)