BALTIMORE—U.S. retail sales tumbled by a record 16.4 percent from March to April as business shutdowns caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, kept shoppers away, threatened the viability of stores across the country and further weighed down a sinking economy.
The Commerce Department’s report on May 15 on retail purchases showed a sector that has collapsed so fast that sales over the past 12 months are down a crippling 21.6 percent. The severity of the decline is unrivaled for retail figures that date back to 1992. The monthly decline in April nearly doubled the previous record drop of 8.3 percent—set just one month earlier.
