Washington, Apr 16 (IANS): Retail sales in America plunged by a record 8.7 per cent in March compared to the previous month, as states ordered the closure of clothing stores, restaurants and other non-essential businesses in a bid to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the US Census Bureau said.

On Wednesday, the Census Bureau said in its latest monthly report that retail and food services sales were estimated to have come in at $483.1 billion last month, down 8.7 per cent from February and 6.2 per cent lower than in March 2019, reports Efe news.

The Commerce Department unit noted that "many businesses are operating on a limited capacity or have ceased operations completely" in the US, which has registered 639,628 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 30,925 deaths.

Numerous categories of retail businesses suffered double-digit declines in sales in March, although food and beverage stores (including supermarkets) saw their sales climb 25.6 per cent from February and 28 per cent from March 2019.

The biggest drops in monthly retail sales were experienced by clothing and clothing accessories stores (down 50.5 per cent from February), furniture and home furnishing stores (down 26.8 per cent), motor vehicle and parts dealers (down 25.6 per cent) and bars and restaurants (down 26.5 per cent).

But despite the big drop in retail spending last month, first-quarter retail sales (January to March) were up 1.1 per cent from the same period of 2019.

Separately, US big-box electronics and technology retail giant Best Buy said in a statemenr on Wednesday that due to pandemic-related disruptions to its business it will need to temporarily furlough around 51,000 domestic hourly store employees - including nearly all part-time employees - starting Sunday.

The company said those furloughed employees will continue to receive health benefits - at no cost to them - for a minimum of three months.