Coronavirus: monthly retail sales development by sector U.S. 2021

Between November and December 2021, total retail sales in the United States had decreased by roughly two and a half percent. The coronavirus pandemic had caused major blows to U.S. retail when it first became a global emergency, i.e., during March and April 2020. As of January 2022, the United States had accounted for over 60 million COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

Which industries did COVID-19 affect the most?

The COVID-19 crisis caused consumers to shift their spending focus towards necessities: in other words, people in the United States had been spending more on groceries and household supplies. Most other industries, including out-of-home entertainment, restaurants, apparel and footwear stores, saw a substantial decrease in consumer spending as a result of the virus outbreak.

Hoarding behavior among consumers

Not only have consumers changed what they buy, there have also been times when shoppers would purchase larger quantities: during the first weeks of the pandemic, hoarding was very prominent among households in the United States. Over the later quarters, pantry filling and hoarding behavior fluctuated, but showed a mostly downward trend.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Monthly retail sales development in the United States during and after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic from February 2020 to December 2021, by retail sector

Characteristic	Total retail	Motor vehicle & parts dealers	Furniture & home furniture stores	Electronics & appliance stores	Building material & garden equipment & supplies dealers	Food & beverage stores	Health & personal care stores	Gasoline stations	Clothing & clothing accessories stores	Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, & book stores	General merchandise stores	Miscellaneous store retailers	Nonstore retailers	Food services & drinking places
Feb to Mar 20	-8.3%	-25.7%	-21.1%	-11%	-0.5%	26.9%	5%	-16.5%	-49.4%	-17.8%	7.1%	-14.1%	4.9%	-
Mar to Apr 20	-14.7%	-12.3%	-48.8%	-43.2%	-2.4%	-12.8%	-14.8%	-24.4%	-75.2%	-33.7%	-13.6%	-25.9%	9.5%	-
Apr to May 20	18.2%	48.7%	79.1%	36.5%	12.2%	2.2%	1.5%	11.9%	176.7%	78%	5.9%	16.4%	7.2%	-
May to Jun 20	8.4%	9.1%	37.4%	37.6%	0.8%	-1.5%	6.9%	14.8%	98.8%	27.6%	2.1%	21.7%	-2.1%	-
Jun to Jul 20	1.2%	-1.2%	0%	22.9%	-2.9%	0.2%	3.6%	6.2%	5.7%	-5%	-0.2%	6.2%	0.7%	-
Jul to Aug 20	0.6%	0.2%	2.1%	0.8%	2%	-1.2%	0.8%	0.4%	2.9%	-5.7%	-0.4%	-0.2%	0%	-
Aug to Sep 20	1.9%	3.6%	0.5%	-1.6%	0.6%	0%	1.7%	1.5%	11%	5.7%	1.8%	1.1%	0.5%	-
Sep to Oct 20	0.3%	0.4%	-0.4%	1.2%	0.9%	-0.2%	-0.1%	0.4%	-4.2%	-4.2%	-1.1%	-0.9%	3.1%	-
Nov to Dec 20	-1%	2%	-0.7%	-6.5%	-0.1%	-1.4%	1%	6.5%	2.6%	-1.4%	-1.8%	5.5%	-7.3%	-4.6%
Dec 20 to Jan 21	5.3%	3.1%	12%	14.7%	4.6%	2.4%	1.3%	4%	5%	8%	5.5%	1.8%	11%	6.9%
Jan to Feb 21	-3%	-4.2%	-3.8%	-1.9%	-3%	0%	-1.3%	3.6%	-2.8%	-7.5%	-5.4%	-3.4%	-5.4%	-2.5%
Feb to Mar 21	10.7%	17.1%	8.1%	17.5%	13.9%	0.7%	8%	10.2%	22.7%	24.2%	9.7%	10.8%	4.7%	13.5%
Mar to Apr 21	0.9%	4.3%	0.7%	1.5%	-2.3%	0.7%	1%	-1.1%	-2%	-2.3%	-2.2%	-0.6%	-0.3%	4.5%
Apr to May 21	-1.7%	-4.6%	-2.3%	-5.5%	-5.3%	1%	-1.2%	0.2%	2.2%	-1.7%	-3.1%	-3.5%	-2.3%	3.7%
May to Jun 21	0.7%	-2.2%	-2.2%	4.5%	-1.4%	0.8%	4.5%	3.6%	3.7%	-1.8%	1.7%	4%	0.2%	2.4%
Jun to Jul 21	-1.8%	-4.6%	-0.4%	-1%	-1%	-0.8%	-0.8%	2%	-2.7%	-1.9%	-1%	0.5%	-4.6%	1.3%
Jul to Aug 21	0.9%	-3.3%	1.8%	-4.3%	1.1%	2.2%	0.2%	1%	0.4%	-3.3%	3.4%	1.7%	5.7%	0.2%
Aug to Sep 21	0.7%	0.5%	0.2%	-0.9%	0.1%	0.7%	-1.4%	1.8%	1.1%	3.7%	2%	1.8%	0.6%	0.3%
Sep to Oct 21	1.8%	1.7%	2.8%	3.1%	2.5%	1%	-1.4%	3.7%	0.2%	0.7%	1.5%	1.7%	4.1%	0.3%
Oct to Nov 21	0.3%	-0.1%	0%	-4.6%	0.7%	1.3%	-0.6%	1.7%	0.5%	1.3%	-1.2%	-0.3%	0%	1%
Nov 21 to Dec 21	-2.5%	-1.6%	-7.4%	-4.1%	1.2%	-0.2%	0.3%	0.4%	-3.4%	-6%	-1.7%	-0.7%	-11.4%	-0.6%

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Release date

February 2022

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Region

United States

Survey time period

February 2020 to December 2021

Supplementary notes

These figures are revised estimates based on early reports obtained from a small sample of firms selected from the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) sample.
Figures are seasonally unadjusted.

Figures for the period of October to November 2020 were unavailable.

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