Americans pulled back from the malls in April, spending less in retail outlets than they did in March, The Associated Press reports.
The lull comes on the heels of three straight month-to-month gains in the retail spending figures, released Thursday by MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse.
April’s business was hurt by cool weather as well as an early Easter that spurred sales in March. But the speed bump also shows that the economy remains on uncertain ground, according to Kamalesh Rao, director of economic research for SpendingPulse.
Including goods from food to clothing to gasoline — but excluding cars — U.S. retail sales fell 2 percent last month from March, according to SpendingPulse, which estimates spending in all forms including cash.
That month-to-month decline followed a 1.4 percent increase in March, a 1.9 percent gain in February and 2.8 percent increase in January.
Excluding both gas and auto sales, retail spending rose 0.3 percent in April from March. In March, that figure rose 1.3 percent and ticked up 0.6 percent in February compared with the prior months.
Retail sales growth, excluding auto sales, cooled from year-ago levels as well. Retail sales excluding autos rose 6.1 percent in April, following a 6.9 percent increase in March and a 6.4 percent gain in February compared with a year earlier. The year-over-year figures are not seasonally adjusted, but the month-to-month figures are seasonally adjusted.
