U.S. retail sales fall off nearly 9 percent to $483 billion

April 15 (UPI) -- Retail sales in the United States fell off by nearly 9 percent last month due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis, government figures showed Wednesday.

The Commerce Department said in a report sales at U.S. retail outlets in March were down 8.7 percent from February, the largest monthly drop since it began tracking the statistics in 1992.

Retail sales for February, by comparison, fell 0.4 percent from January.

"Due to recent events surrounding COVID-19, many businesses are operating on a limited capacity or have ceased operations completely," the department said.

March sales for retail and food services totaled $483 billion, the department noted.