Connect With PPD
Follow Us:
Economy

Advance Retail Sales Fall 8.7% for March, Grocery Stores Surge 26.9%

A young woman consumer wearing a disposable medical mask while shopping at the supermarket during the Chinese Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. (Photo: AdobeStock)

Washington, D.C. (PPD) — The advance estimate for U.S. retail sales for March came in at $483.1 billion, down 8.7% (±0.4%) monthly and 6.2% (±0.7%) year-over-year. Estimates are adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes.

Forecasts ranged from a low of -13.2% to a high of only -3.3%. The consensus forecast was -7.3%.

Total sales for the January 2020 through March 2020 period were still up 1.1% (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. However, that’s down significantly from the gains before the mitigation efforts to stop the spread of the Chinese Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The January 2020 to February 2020 percent change was revised from down 0.5% (±0.4%) to down 0.4% (±0.2%).

Retail trade sales were down 6.2% (±0.4%) from February 2020, and 3.8% (±0.7%) below last year. Food and beverage stores were up 28.0% (±0.9%) from March 2019, and 25.6 from the previous month. That includes a 26.9% monthly gain for grocery stores.

Clothing and clothing accessories stores were down 50.7% (±1.8%) from last year.

SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, MARCH 2020

READ FULL STORY

SubscribeSign In
PPD Business Staff

PPD Business, the economy-reporting arm of People's Pundit Daily, is "making sense of current events." We are a no-holds barred, news reporting pundit of, by, and for the people.

Share
Published by
PPD Business Staff

Recent Posts

Media’s Worst Russian Collusion Sins May Soon Be Repeated

The most damning journalistic sin committed by the media during the era of Russia collusion…

1 year ago

Study: Mask-Mandates and Use Not Associated With Lower Covid-19 Case Growth

The first ecological study finds mask mandates were not effective at slowing the spread of…

3 years ago

Barnes and Baris on Big Tech’s Arbitrary Social Media Bans

On "What Are the Odds?" Monday, Robert Barnes and Rich Baris note how big tech…

4 years ago

Barnes and Baris on Why America First Stands With Israel

On "What Are the Odds?" Monday, Robert Barnes and Rich Baris discuss why America First…

4 years ago

Personal Income Fell Significantly in February, Consumer Spending Weaker than Expected

Personal income fell $1,516.6 billion (7.1%) in February, roughly the consensus forecast, while consumer spending…

4 years ago

Study: Infection, Vaccination Protects Against Covid-19 Variants

Research finds those previously infected by or vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 are not at risk of…

4 years ago

This website uses cookies.