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Retail sales for March (excluding motor vehicles and gasoline) rose by 3.5 percent year over year on a seasonally adjusted basis, with health and personal-care retailers (up 4.4 percent) and building-supply stores (3.3 percent higher) among the strongest performers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Nonstore sales — a broad category that includes online sales by physical retailers, sales by e-tailers such as Amazon.com, and mail-order purchases — rose by 11.6 percent versus the comparable month a year ago. Restaurants and drinking establishments saw a 4.3 percent rise. Food-and-beverage sales (including grocery stores) increased by 1.8 percent, while clothing, accessories and shoes saw a 1.5 percent rise.
Electronics-store sales declined by 2.7 percent, traditional and discount department-store sales fell back by 3.7 percent, and the sporting-goods, hobby, books and music store category reported a 9.7 percent sales reduction.
By Edmund Mander
Director, Editor-In-Chief/SCT
