Retail sales plummeted in April, and I do mean "plummeted." Sales fell 16.4% from a month earlier, which is twice as big as the drop in March -- and March was the biggest drop on record. The numbers on some of the individual categories are even more eye-popping: Restaurant sales are down by half in the past two months. Furniture-store sales are down by two-thirds. Clothing-store sales are down by nearly 90 percent. April might be the bottom for retail. Some states have begun to reopen, and we're already seeing early signs of an increase in sales. But don't expect the rebound to be anywhere as fast as the drop. A few viral photos notwithstanding, there's not much evidence that shoppers are eager to pack back into stores again. And for millions of newly unemployed workers, shopping is a luxury they can't afford right now anyway. What does this mean for the future of retail? Which brands will survive? And what will all this mean for the broader economy? Sapna Maheshwari and I dug into those questions in today's New York Times. Check it out. #economy #retail #coronavirus …see more