Data Show April Online Retail Sales Gains Unable to Offset Broader Declines

The latest retail sales data point to a continued role for brick and mortar retail once the coronavirus crisis passes, according to Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure.Speaking May 18 on the Nareit REIT Report podcast, Schnure noted that the more than 8% rise in non-store retail sales in April, which includes e-commerce, was unable to offset the overall decline of 16.4%.“Online commerce is still no substitute for a lot of the shopping that people do. So, even after this crisis passes, this tells us there’s still a strong role for brick and mortar retail sales,” Schnure said.