The U.S. Census Bureau announced Monday that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for March, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $411.1 billion, an increase of 0.8% from the previous month.           

Compared with the same month last year, sales were up 6.5%.

Total sales for the January through March 2012 period were up 6.4% from the same period a year ago.

Sales for the building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers, a group that includes home centers and hardware stores, were $27.758 billion in March on an adjusted basis, up 3.0% from February.

Non-store retailers were up 9.3% from last year, according to the report.