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In terms of retail sales, April a disappointment

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WASHINGTON — Retail sales were unchanged at $436.8 billion in April, the Commerce Department said. The agency revised higher retail sales for March, to a 1.1% increase rather than the previously reported 0.9% gain.

Retail sales were unchanged at $436.8 billion in April, the Commerce Department said. The agency revised higher retail sales for March, to a 1.1% increase rather than the previously reported 0.9% gain.

The April sales figures reflect reduced spending on big-ticket items such as automobiles, including car parts and gasoline, and furniture. Consumers spent less at department stores last month, while sales rose at stores selling building materials, sporting goods, and health and personal care products.

Falling prices contributed to the flat April sales, economists noted, as sales data are not adjusted for inflation.

Sales growth at U.S. retailers disappointed in April, as measured by the Thomson Reuters same-store sales index. April sales at established stores registered an average decline of 0.6%, the first negative reading for the index for 2015. The last time the index showed a monthly decline was in August 2009.

Retailers in April were facing difficult comparisons due to exceptionally strong sales a year earlier, Thomson Reuters noted. And an early Passover/Easter holiday weekend (April 3 to April 5) meant that some sales that otherwise might have been made in April occurred in March.

There were bright spots last month. Costco Wholesale Corp. said same-store sales held steady at $8.8 billion. Sales at U.S. stores rose 2%, but a 4% decline in international stores offset that strength. Rite Aid Corp. said same-store sales increased 3% in April. Front-end sales declined 0.5% and were negatively impacted by the timing of Easter. But pharmacy same-store sales rose 4.6%. Fred’s Inc. said comparable-store sales increased 0.7% compared with a decrease of 2.3% in April of last year.

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