U.S. retail sales plummeted 8.7% in March, a record drop as the viral outbreak closed down thousands of stores and shoppers stayed home.
Sales fell sharply across many categories: Auto sales fell 25.6%, while clothing store sales collapsed, dropping 50.5%.
U.S. consumer confidence has plunged and the vast majority of Americans are hunkered down at home under shelter in place orders.
Grocery store sales did jump by nearly 26% as Americans hoarded food and consumer items.
A category that mostly includes online sales rose 3.1%.
Meanwhile, American industry collapsed in March as the pandemic wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy.
Manufacturing and overall industrial production posted the biggest drops since the United States demobilized after World War II.
The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that manufacturing output dropped 6.3% last month, led by plunging production at auto factories.
Overall, industrial production, which includes factories, utilities and mines, plummeted 5.4%.
The drops were the biggest since 1946 and were worse than economists had expected.
Auto production went into freefall, dropping 27.2%.
The lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed to combat COVID-19 have brought economic activity to a near-standstill.
Output dropped 3.9% at utilities and 2% at mines.
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