U.S. March Retail Plunge Seen Turning Disastrous in April

(Bloomberg) -- Mandatory store closures in the U.S. sparked a catastrophic drop in retail sales in March -- and this will worsen in April, according to Forrester Research Inc. More than $150 billion in U.S. retail sales could disappear in April compared to the same month in 2019, Forrester said in a recent report. That follows the nearly $100 billion that was lost in March. Meanwhile, e-commerce is gaining: While online sales were 19% of overall sales in March, Forrester estimates this will rise to 25% in April.

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