U.S. retail sales rose 0.4% in April from March and 4.5% from the year-ago period to $474.9 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau of the Commerce Department reported Friday. Excluding auto sales, April’s retail sales increase was 0.3% including food sales and 0.4% not including food sales. The agency also revised its March report for retail and food sales from a 0.2% decline to a 0.1% rise.
E-commerce sales rose 1.4% in April and 11.9% year over year, according to the report, suggesting that, while growing, online sales results don’t put much of a dent into overall retail sales.
