Retail sales fell 1.2 percent in May, a far worse result than the 0.2 percent increase analysts had forecast, CNNMoney.com reported.

The U.S. government said today that total retail sales dropped to $362.5 billion last month. It was the first decline since September.

“The trend as of late has been modest growth, and around the trend of modest growth, you’re going to get some ups and downs,” said Scott Hoyt, a retail economist with Moody’s Economy.com.

“That’s clearly what we’re seeing here.”

Hoyt said that excluding weakness in three areas – building supplies, gasoline stations and motor vehicles – overall sales would have increased 0.1 percent.

And despite May’s disappointing data, he expects sales to improve, albeit more slowly than earlier this year.

“The pace of consumer spending growth we saw in the first quarter was too fast and couldn’t be sustained,” Hoyt said. “But if you put this [report] in the context of the last few months, where growth was quite strong, and smooth it all out a bit, we are still consistent with the story of modest spending growth, and this is where we should be.”

Reports related to retail sales are an important gauge of whether an economic recovery is under way, as consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

Total retail sales increased 6.9 percent on a year-over-year basis.