U.S. retail sales suffered a record drop in March as mandatory business closures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak depressed demand for a range of goods, setting up consumer spending for its worst decline in decades. Retail sales plunged 8.7% last month, the biggest decline since the government started tracking the series in 1992. Data for February was revised slightly up to show retail sales slipping 0.4% instead of falling 0.5% as previously reported.
