The recession continued to cause consumers to be stingy at retail outlets the Commerce Department reported today.
Retail sales fell 0.4% in April, the third consecutive monthly decline. Last month's figures were 10.1% below those of April 2008. From February through April, retail sales were down 9.2% from the same period last year.
Total retail and food sales in April were $337.7 billion, down from $344.0 billion in March.
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April's numbers showed a 0.5% decrease in non-automobile sales, but that number represented a 7.7% drop from April 2008.
There was a 0.2% increase in automobile sales from March and a 20.7% decline from April 2008.
The biggest declines in sales from March were at electronics/appliance stores (2.8%), gasoline stations (2.3%), grocery stores (1.1%) and food/beverage stores (1%).
The largest increases in sales were at building supply and garden stores (0.3%) and restaurants and bars (0.2%).
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