Retail sales fell slightly last month, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday, as consumers spent less on goods and more on activities like travel, an industry that had been hobbled by the pandemic. The 1.3 percent decline in May follows months of ups and downs in consumer spending, driven by the persistence of the coronavirus that had kept many people away from airports and restaurants. The data from April was revised to show an increase of 0.9 percent. But with a growing portion of the country’s population vaccinated and infection rates falling, Americans are venturing out and spending more on lodging and ... (full story)